Bi-lateral Statement
29 July 2009
During a visit to Ireland by a delegation of the Communist Party of Greece, a meeting was held with representatives of the Communist Party of Ireland. The Greek delegation also held a series of meetings with a number of Irish trade unions and social organisations.
Under discussion at the bilateral meeting was the necessity for both parties to continue to work for greater unity of the world communist movement in the struggle against imperialism. Also discussed was the importance of working together to build a greater ideological and political unity of communist forces and to struggle against opportunism.
The two parties have a common understanding of the nature of the global crisis now affecting the imperialist system, sharing the view that this crisis is part of the crisis of capitalism. During the discussions it was agreed that both the Greek government and the Irish government are attempting to compel the working class of their countries to pay for this crisis of capitalism, which is reflected in the growing attacks on public services and on workers’ wages, conditions and social insurance rights and in the growing ranks of unemployed workers.
The parties agreed on the need for workers’ organisations to resist these attacks through their class-oriented struggle. They pointed out that the communist parties need to defend the socialist perspective and vision as the only sure way forward in the building of socially just societies.
In their evaluation of the nature of the European Union the two parties agreed that the workers’ movement throughout Europe must continue to resist this imperialist bloc and its strengthening. They struggle against the approach being taken by the Party of the European Left as a capitulation to the interests of imperialism and big corporate interests, its role being to undermine the revolutionary ideology of the communist movement, leading to a strengthening of the forces of class collaboration within the workers’ movement.
The parties reiterated their criticism of the Irish government and of all the establishment parties—Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and the Green Party—for bowing to pressure from the European Union to subvert the democratically expressed rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by the Irish people. The Communist Party of Greece expressed its support for the democratic forces in Ireland struggling to deliver once again a rebuff to the imposition of this so-called Reform Treaty.
Both parties expressed their solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people in their struggle for a homeland and for a just and lasting settlement. They also expressed their solidarity with the Cuban people and join with them in celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of their revolution. The two parties pledged their continued solidarity and support for the forces bringing about radical social transformations in Latin America, and in particular they condemned the interference by the United States in the overthrow of President Zelaya of Honduras. The parties expressed their solidarity with all those forces struggling against imperialism and those who struggle for socialism in very difficult and extremely hostile conditions.
Finally, the Communist Party of Ireland and the Communist Party of Greece pledged to continue to share their experiences and to further strengthen their co-operation.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
And some say the EU hasnt an army!
See at the below link the EU army raise the EU flag and note its size!!
http://www.people.ie/english1.html
http://www.people.ie/english1.html
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Pat Cox, Corporate Lobbyist leads the Yes to Lisbon Campaign
Pat Cox, former European Parliament President, among the least transparent lobbyists ... Item from Corporate Europe Observatory forwarded for your information
On 23 June 2008 the European Commission launched the first ever EU lobbying transparency register. But will this voluntary mechanism end the secrecy surrounding much of lobbying in Brussels?
An estimated 15,000+ lobbyists try to influence EU decision-making, most of them representing Big Business. The Brussels Sunshine blog, written by members of the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) team, tracks who registers and who doesn't, what is disclosed and what isn't.
http://blog.brusselssunshine.eu/2009/06/former-parliament-president-among-least.html
Tuesday, 2 June 2009 Article
Former Parliament President among the least transparent lobbyists
In previous posts we highlighted examples of former MEPs who have gone through the revolving door to become corporate lobbyists. Pat Cox, an MEP for fifteen years (1989 - 2004) and president of the European Parliament for two years (2002 -2004), is another astonishing example.
After stepping down as an MEP he became a lobbying consultant for several bodies, including public affairs giant APCO, the corporations Microsoft, Pfizer and Michelin, as well as corporate front groups and think- tanks like Friends of Europe.
He is also the director of two smaller lobby firms: Strategic Consulting firm CAPA Ltd and European Integration Solutions. Neither of these firms have joined the Commission's register. Nor do they apply even the most basic standards of transparency:
- Neither of them has a website
- Searching online, there is an EIS address in Brussels as well as a Cyprus phone number. The address seems to be for a private apartment.
Pat Cox has also been hired by Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva as a Special Adviser. The documents published on the Commission's web page of Special Advisers, however, fail to demonstrate an absence of conflicts of interest as demanded by the Rules on Special Advisers.
There are legitimate concerns that there could be a potential conflict of interest given that Mr Cox works directly (Microsoft, Pfizer and Michelin) and indirectly (through APCO and EIS) for large corporations with significant interests in EU consumer policies.
Corporate Europe Observatory wrote to Commissioner Kuneva last month and asked her to clarify the situation.
On 23 June 2008 the European Commission launched the first ever EU lobbying transparency register. But will this voluntary mechanism end the secrecy surrounding much of lobbying in Brussels?
An estimated 15,000+ lobbyists try to influence EU decision-making, most of them representing Big Business. The Brussels Sunshine blog, written by members of the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) team, tracks who registers and who doesn't, what is disclosed and what isn't.
http://blog.brusselssunshine.eu/2009/06/former-parliament-president-among-least.html
Tuesday, 2 June 2009 Article
Former Parliament President among the least transparent lobbyists
In previous posts we highlighted examples of former MEPs who have gone through the revolving door to become corporate lobbyists. Pat Cox, an MEP for fifteen years (1989 - 2004) and president of the European Parliament for two years (2002 -2004), is another astonishing example.
After stepping down as an MEP he became a lobbying consultant for several bodies, including public affairs giant APCO, the corporations Microsoft, Pfizer and Michelin, as well as corporate front groups and think- tanks like Friends of Europe.
He is also the director of two smaller lobby firms: Strategic Consulting firm CAPA Ltd and European Integration Solutions. Neither of these firms have joined the Commission's register. Nor do they apply even the most basic standards of transparency:
- Neither of them has a website
- Searching online, there is an EIS address in Brussels as well as a Cyprus phone number. The address seems to be for a private apartment.
Pat Cox has also been hired by Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva as a Special Adviser. The documents published on the Commission's web page of Special Advisers, however, fail to demonstrate an absence of conflicts of interest as demanded by the Rules on Special Advisers.
There are legitimate concerns that there could be a potential conflict of interest given that Mr Cox works directly (Microsoft, Pfizer and Michelin) and indirectly (through APCO and EIS) for large corporations with significant interests in EU consumer policies.
Corporate Europe Observatory wrote to Commissioner Kuneva last month and asked her to clarify the situation.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Campaigning will win us a No to Lisbon, Again!
How to get you to do nothing
The principal tactics being employed by the Yes campaign so far appear to be forms of psychological intimidation. In addition to targeting the public with disingenuous scaremongering, they are attempting to demoralise No campaigners by convincing them that they have no chance of winning.
They want to present a Yes victory as a fait accompli. I know the latter to be a fact as it was stated by a member of the European Parliament. Also we witnessed what David Cochrane, who led a successful campaign for Libertas, said when he switched sides: he advised the Yes campaign to project an image of total certainty.
The purpose of this is to sow demotivation and apathy among No campaigners. Yet radio opinion polls (though not totally reliable) indicate a substantial majority against, the letters' pages of at least two of the main national dailies show a higher ratio of No to Yes writers, and the major online internet discussion groups have polls running also showing a majority against, along with a large number of No side contributors.
An MEP, Colm Burke, informed me that judging from his experience on the campaign trail he fears that the referendum will be lost again. In addition, the Government felt the need to announce that it would not resign if it lost the referendum again. Hardly a vote of confidence in itself.
When people learn these facts, when they realise that it is part of a campaign of psychological intimidation, they become doubly motivated again. So it's very important that people know that this battle is winnable.
Of course, some people are wavering because of the economic situation. Not all the I T etc polls are inaccurate (at least one though had a very skewed question).
But the economic argument is basically the sole argument the Yes side has. And this argument is not only going to be met head on, it will be turned completely around as it's utter rubbish.
For a start, the very deregulated economic model upon which Lisbon is based is responsible for the international financial collapse. Then there is the fact that Britain is the most Eurosceptic member state in the EU and this has not stopped investors there nor the beginnings of economic recovery. In addition, Norway and Switzerland both rejected membership of the EU and despite not being at "the heart of Europe" these are two of Europe's wealthiest nations.
In fact, as Brian Lenihan recently acknowledged, membership of the monetary union allied to an influx of cheap labour from Eastern Europe played a key part in engineering our economic collapse. It is completely disingenuous and utterly reprehensible then to present self-serving economic arguments (especially coming from the same political elite responsible for the current mess) for supporting a political treaty.
Market integration and political integration are entirely different. As Professor Roland Vaubel, Germany, wrote recently, "The common market was a highly successful attempt to remove the barriers to trade and capital movements that the national governments had erected. It increased efficiency as well as freedom... Political integration or centralisation, by contrast, is a threat to liberty. The more we centralise, the more powerful the state as a whole becomes" (European Institutions as an Interest Group, pg 23).
The principal tactics being employed by the Yes campaign so far appear to be forms of psychological intimidation. In addition to targeting the public with disingenuous scaremongering, they are attempting to demoralise No campaigners by convincing them that they have no chance of winning.
They want to present a Yes victory as a fait accompli. I know the latter to be a fact as it was stated by a member of the European Parliament. Also we witnessed what David Cochrane, who led a successful campaign for Libertas, said when he switched sides: he advised the Yes campaign to project an image of total certainty.
The purpose of this is to sow demotivation and apathy among No campaigners. Yet radio opinion polls (though not totally reliable) indicate a substantial majority against, the letters' pages of at least two of the main national dailies show a higher ratio of No to Yes writers, and the major online internet discussion groups have polls running also showing a majority against, along with a large number of No side contributors.
An MEP, Colm Burke, informed me that judging from his experience on the campaign trail he fears that the referendum will be lost again. In addition, the Government felt the need to announce that it would not resign if it lost the referendum again. Hardly a vote of confidence in itself.
When people learn these facts, when they realise that it is part of a campaign of psychological intimidation, they become doubly motivated again. So it's very important that people know that this battle is winnable.
Of course, some people are wavering because of the economic situation. Not all the I T etc polls are inaccurate (at least one though had a very skewed question).
But the economic argument is basically the sole argument the Yes side has. And this argument is not only going to be met head on, it will be turned completely around as it's utter rubbish.
For a start, the very deregulated economic model upon which Lisbon is based is responsible for the international financial collapse. Then there is the fact that Britain is the most Eurosceptic member state in the EU and this has not stopped investors there nor the beginnings of economic recovery. In addition, Norway and Switzerland both rejected membership of the EU and despite not being at "the heart of Europe" these are two of Europe's wealthiest nations.
In fact, as Brian Lenihan recently acknowledged, membership of the monetary union allied to an influx of cheap labour from Eastern Europe played a key part in engineering our economic collapse. It is completely disingenuous and utterly reprehensible then to present self-serving economic arguments (especially coming from the same political elite responsible for the current mess) for supporting a political treaty.
Market integration and political integration are entirely different. As Professor Roland Vaubel, Germany, wrote recently, "The common market was a highly successful attempt to remove the barriers to trade and capital movements that the national governments had erected. It increased efficiency as well as freedom... Political integration or centralisation, by contrast, is a threat to liberty. The more we centralise, the more powerful the state as a whole becomes" (European Institutions as an Interest Group, pg 23).
Monday, July 13, 2009
Evo Morales 10 Commandments
* 1. In order to save the planet, the capitalist model must be eradicated and the North pay its ecological debt, rather than the countries of the South and throughout the world continuing to pay their external debts.
* 2. Denounce and PUT AN END to war, which only brings profits for empires, transnationals, and a few families, but not for peoples. The million and millions of dollars destined to warfare should be invested in the Earth, which has been hurt as a result of misuse and overexploitation.
* 3. Develop relations of coexistence, rather than domination, among countries in a world without imperialism or colonialism. Bilateral and multilateral relations are important because we belong to a culture of dialogue and social coexistence, but those relationships should not be of submission of one country to another.
* 4. Water is a human right and a right for all living things on the planet. It is not possible that there be policies that permit the privatization of water.
* 5. Develop clean energies that are nature friendly; put an end to energy wastefulness. In 100 years we are doing away with the fossil fuels that have been created over millions of years. Avoid the promotion of agrofuels. It is incomprehensible that some governments and economic development models can set aside land in order to make luxury cars run, rather than using it to provide food for human beings. Promote debates with governments and create awareness that the earth must be used for the benefit of all human beings and not to produce agrofuels.
* 6. Respect for the mother Earth. Learn from the historic teachings of native and indigenous peoples with regard to the respect for the mother Earth. A collective social consciousness must be developed among all sectors of society, recognizing that the Earth is our mother.
* 7. Basic services, such as water, electricity, education, healthcare, communications, and collective transportation should all be considered human rights; they cannot be privatized but must rather be public services.
* 8. Consume what is necessary, give priority and consume what is produced locally, put an end to consumerism, waste, and luxury. It is incomprehensible that some families dedicate themselves to the search for luxury, when millions and millions of persons do not have the possibility to live well.
* 9. Promote cultural and economic diversity. We are very diverse and this is our nature. A plurinational state, in which everyone is included within that state - whites, browns, blacks, everyone.
* 10. We want everyone to be able to live well, which does not mean to live better at the expense of others. We must build a communitarian socialism that is in harmony with the Mother Earth.
Evo Morales
* 2. Denounce and PUT AN END to war, which only brings profits for empires, transnationals, and a few families, but not for peoples. The million and millions of dollars destined to warfare should be invested in the Earth, which has been hurt as a result of misuse and overexploitation.
* 3. Develop relations of coexistence, rather than domination, among countries in a world without imperialism or colonialism. Bilateral and multilateral relations are important because we belong to a culture of dialogue and social coexistence, but those relationships should not be of submission of one country to another.
* 4. Water is a human right and a right for all living things on the planet. It is not possible that there be policies that permit the privatization of water.
* 5. Develop clean energies that are nature friendly; put an end to energy wastefulness. In 100 years we are doing away with the fossil fuels that have been created over millions of years. Avoid the promotion of agrofuels. It is incomprehensible that some governments and economic development models can set aside land in order to make luxury cars run, rather than using it to provide food for human beings. Promote debates with governments and create awareness that the earth must be used for the benefit of all human beings and not to produce agrofuels.
* 6. Respect for the mother Earth. Learn from the historic teachings of native and indigenous peoples with regard to the respect for the mother Earth. A collective social consciousness must be developed among all sectors of society, recognizing that the Earth is our mother.
* 7. Basic services, such as water, electricity, education, healthcare, communications, and collective transportation should all be considered human rights; they cannot be privatized but must rather be public services.
* 8. Consume what is necessary, give priority and consume what is produced locally, put an end to consumerism, waste, and luxury. It is incomprehensible that some families dedicate themselves to the search for luxury, when millions and millions of persons do not have the possibility to live well.
* 9. Promote cultural and economic diversity. We are very diverse and this is our nature. A plurinational state, in which everyone is included within that state - whites, browns, blacks, everyone.
* 10. We want everyone to be able to live well, which does not mean to live better at the expense of others. We must build a communitarian socialism that is in harmony with the Mother Earth.
Evo Morales
Jack O'Conner on being elected President of the ICTU
I wish to express the deep appreciation of my union for the honour of my election to the office of the President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. I know the affiliated unions, in supporting me for this position, were conscious of the fact that this is the centenary year of SIPTU making the honour even more significant. In this regard, I want to acknowledge that this is also the centenary year of another affiliated union, the ASTI, and I want to congratulate them for what they have achieved for their profession over the past 100 years.
I am assuming office against the background of what, I think, everyone accepts is the worst economic downturn globally and domestically - certainly since the Second World War and possibly since the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929.
I am also conscious that I am assuming office after the presidency of Patricia McKeown who worked very actively to ensure that the imprint of the trade union movement is firmly placed on the developing infrastructure of the all island economy. I am acutely conscious of the central role and legacy of our movement in the struggle to reconcile the issues which divide the people of this island and they way in which we have always emphasised the unity between workers of all traditions in this country and often in the face of the most strident adversity – including the significance of decisions taken by our movement in 1918 and the price we have paid for those decisions and I want to assure Conference that in so far as I possibly can I will remain true throughout my tenure in this office to that legacy.
Patricia also elevated the importance of international solidarity throughout her presidency reinforcing the internationalist outlook of our movement and working tirelessly to highlight graphically the plight of those suffering injustice and oppression in the world particularly the greatest injustice of them all – that being suffered by the Palestinian people, which incidentally not only diminishes them but the Israeli people as well and because our common humanity has allowed it to happen diminishes us all.
In this regard, I want to reassure conference that I will endeavour to do everything I can to ensure that our honourable tradition of internationalism, reflected in the work of the Global Solidarity Committee, of extending solidarity to beleaguered and oppressed people, particularly in Palestine and Colombia, will remain on top of the agenda.
But ultimately, delegates, we make our history in our own domestic context and we face economic conditions and their social implications at least as severe as any we have ever encountered. The domestic aspect of this crisis is entirely attributable, in the South at least, to decisions made at the end of the 1990’s which actually prioritised speculative over sustainable development – even sustainable capitalism – resulting in a catastrophe of such a scale never previously witnessed in this State.
By way of emphasis, think for a moment of the difference between the Swedish banking crisis of the early 1990s which entailed 8% of GDP compared to our current crisis entailing as much as 60% of GDP and we have not yet seen anything like the full potential of how this crisis will impact on working people and its capacity to inflict enormous human misery.
We are facing into this under a centre-right government which is committed to an austerity policy which reflects the same outlook that created the problems in the first place. Thus, they are concentrated on saving the banks from nationalisation; rectifying the public finances without alienating the better off because they regard them as potential investors; and simulating devaluation by promoting a pay cutting agenda across the economy – a policy which incidentally apart from its inherent immorality will actually serve only to exacerbate the problem by further depressing the economy.
That being said, we have to be clear that there is neither a pain free, nor risk free alternative, and wish it as we would it is not open to us to simply wave these problems away – there is a requirement for a sustained national effort by all sectors of society, acting on an all island basis, to meet the challenge.
This can only be constructed on the basis of fairness which means that those best able contribute the most while those most exposed are protected by society as a whole.
That is why we advanced the idea of the Social Solidarity Pact; why we promulgated the Ten Point Plan; why we urged unions seeking mandates to ballot for industrial action across the South in pursuit of the Transitional Agreement or negotiated alternative. That too – believe it or believe it not delegates – is why the Executive Council of Congress deferred the action scheduled for March 30, last and why we agreed to enter talks with government and employers and it is why within those talks we highlighted the issues of job retention; private sector pensions and protection against home repossessions and why in relation to the public sector we have demanded guarantees against compulsory redundancies; the protection of temporary workers and reassurances against further pay cuts as well as commitments that the pensions levy would be addressed in a structured way in the context of economic recovery.
And it is also, delegates, why the Executive Council concluded unanimously that the proposals which emerged from the talks on June 23, fell short but sought further engagement to see if a platform for agreement could be constructed.
Because we must be prepared to try to find agreement which maximises the prospects for the protection of the livelihoods and advancement of the interests of our members and of working people generally and their families. And it is why, also, that we are engaged with the Construction Industry Council in relation to imaginative proposals which would save 70,000 jobs, preserve our critical skills base and provide physical infrastructure which is so crucial to enhance the productivity of our economy rather than the kindergarten economics of cutting people’s pay. In that regard, I want to make it very clear that we are amenable to working with any and every employer who is prepared to recognise their employees right to organise and be represented by trade unions, to negotiate and comply with collectively negotiated agreements and to treat people fairly, in order to meet the challenge ahead.
I am acutely aware of the level of disillusionment among trade union members and working people generally at our response to the assault on their standard of living and quality of life as it has unfolded to date. I have to say, quite frankly, that it would have been better if we had gone ahead with the day of action on March 30, as a united movement - but it wasn’t going to happen as a united movement.
But let us be clear on this, delegates. This is a marathon not a sprint and we will not successfully meet the challenge with which we are faced by walking around town for a few hours. Let us be clear because there is a great deal of confusion about it. What we decided to do at the Congress meeting of February 24, was to urge unions to conduct ballots to secure mandates for a sustained and relentless campaign of action in pursuit of collectively negotiated agreement.
And in the absence of that I am not going to threaten the Minister for Finance with the riots in the street that seem to pre-occupy his imagination but I believe we can offer instead the prospect of a sustained and relentless industrial campaign conducted workplace by workplace and I believe we can promise him and those who believe that working people should carry the burden of this crisis a response that will not end in one day like a walk about town - or a riot for that matter – but will go on and on, workplace after workplace, and that will be there to meet them every morning they wake up.
I do so in the knowledge that if it has to happen – and I very much hope it doesn’t - that while we will take punishment we will inflict it as well and I am determined to ensure that in so far as I can this movement will not allow any group of workers to be isolated or to have their agreements torn up or to have Labour Court recommendations disregarded and to have avenues of resolution deliberately obstructed. This is why, delegates, I considered it critically important to declare our clear and unequivocal support for the electrician members of the TEEU after their talks at the LRC broke down last Saturday.
In saying all of this I am equally determined to ensure that the battle is conducted in an intelligent way that does not expose union members, or their families, or indeed the ordinary citizens of this island, to unnecessary hardship or potential danger through some blind adventurism.
And all the while being ready and willing to conclude terms for a realistic agreement that respects the interests of working people and our entitlement to dignity at work.
In that regard, I will be making no attempt to camouflage the fact that our government has failed to honour commitments in respect of nine separate pieces of employment protection legislation and their recent exercise in persuading the Heads of Government at the European Council to adopt a solemn declaration affording a high priority to workers rights when they are not prepared to apply it domestically is nothing short of monumental hypocrisy.
Indeed, this is graphically illustrated by the plight of ten contract cleaner members of my own union who are today picketing the office of the Minister for the Environment in the Customs House having been dismissed for no other reason other than that they are members of a trade union.
It is also evident in the application for an all out picket in Dublin Port which is due to be considered by this Congress shortly because a company called Marine Terminals is determined to smash any trade union organisation including an attempt to carry out the mass dismissal of SIPTU members. It was also reflected in the presence here earlier this week of workers employed by Mr Binman a company in the waste disposal industry in support of their colleagues who have also been dismissed for simply seeking to exercise the right to organise.
All this arises in the context of the impending vote on the Lisbon Treaty which, if ratified, would enshrine entitlement to participate in collective bargaining as a fundamental right, which would inevitably entail a prohibition on victimisation for seeking to vindicate that right, but which our government refuses to commit to domestic legislation.
In this context, I believe that the two most significant and potentially far reaching developments of our conference this week were the clear and explicit commitment which seems to have gone unnoticed by the leader of the Labour leader, Eamon Gilmore when he addressed us last Tuesday to enshrine that fundamental right into Irish law if the Treaty is ratified in the October referendum – the other one being our decision to establish a commission on trade union organisation. Lets be frank about it delegates. We are not nearly as well equipped as we should be to address the challenge facing the people we represent over the period ahead and we must address ourselves to this as a matter of the most urgent priority.
Unless and until we do the content of our resolutions will remain little more than aspirational.
I want to assure you that these matters will receive my fullest attention over every day of the next two years and in that regard I look forward to working with every member elected to the incoming Executive Council to ensure that as far as I possibly can that the interests of every member of every union affiliated to this Congress are upheld to the utmost possible degree.
My fundamental objective is to achieve the maximum unity in our trade union and labour movement because it is not just about unity between organisations and institutions but, more profoundly, between the working men and women of this island.
With that in mind I look forward to working with the other officers, with Joe O’Flynn and Patricia King of my own union, and with Eugene McGlone of UNITE and, in particular, I look forward to working with our general secretary, David Begg, whom I hold in the utmost esteem and whom, I have no doubt, is without question the best person to see us through these difficult times.
I’m often reminded of a remark passed by Esther Lynch of the Congress staff in a passing conversation a few years ago. She said; “This is our watch”. We are only the custodians of the proud legacy of the determined, and courageous, working people who founded this Congress and we owe it to them and to our members and working people today and to those who are not yet born to meet the challenge presented by these times and to reassert the objective of fairness at work and justice in society. I promise that I will do everything I can to bring this about and I know that together as a united movement we will overcome.
I am assuming office against the background of what, I think, everyone accepts is the worst economic downturn globally and domestically - certainly since the Second World War and possibly since the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929.
I am also conscious that I am assuming office after the presidency of Patricia McKeown who worked very actively to ensure that the imprint of the trade union movement is firmly placed on the developing infrastructure of the all island economy. I am acutely conscious of the central role and legacy of our movement in the struggle to reconcile the issues which divide the people of this island and they way in which we have always emphasised the unity between workers of all traditions in this country and often in the face of the most strident adversity – including the significance of decisions taken by our movement in 1918 and the price we have paid for those decisions and I want to assure Conference that in so far as I possibly can I will remain true throughout my tenure in this office to that legacy.
Patricia also elevated the importance of international solidarity throughout her presidency reinforcing the internationalist outlook of our movement and working tirelessly to highlight graphically the plight of those suffering injustice and oppression in the world particularly the greatest injustice of them all – that being suffered by the Palestinian people, which incidentally not only diminishes them but the Israeli people as well and because our common humanity has allowed it to happen diminishes us all.
In this regard, I want to reassure conference that I will endeavour to do everything I can to ensure that our honourable tradition of internationalism, reflected in the work of the Global Solidarity Committee, of extending solidarity to beleaguered and oppressed people, particularly in Palestine and Colombia, will remain on top of the agenda.
But ultimately, delegates, we make our history in our own domestic context and we face economic conditions and their social implications at least as severe as any we have ever encountered. The domestic aspect of this crisis is entirely attributable, in the South at least, to decisions made at the end of the 1990’s which actually prioritised speculative over sustainable development – even sustainable capitalism – resulting in a catastrophe of such a scale never previously witnessed in this State.
By way of emphasis, think for a moment of the difference between the Swedish banking crisis of the early 1990s which entailed 8% of GDP compared to our current crisis entailing as much as 60% of GDP and we have not yet seen anything like the full potential of how this crisis will impact on working people and its capacity to inflict enormous human misery.
We are facing into this under a centre-right government which is committed to an austerity policy which reflects the same outlook that created the problems in the first place. Thus, they are concentrated on saving the banks from nationalisation; rectifying the public finances without alienating the better off because they regard them as potential investors; and simulating devaluation by promoting a pay cutting agenda across the economy – a policy which incidentally apart from its inherent immorality will actually serve only to exacerbate the problem by further depressing the economy.
That being said, we have to be clear that there is neither a pain free, nor risk free alternative, and wish it as we would it is not open to us to simply wave these problems away – there is a requirement for a sustained national effort by all sectors of society, acting on an all island basis, to meet the challenge.
This can only be constructed on the basis of fairness which means that those best able contribute the most while those most exposed are protected by society as a whole.
That is why we advanced the idea of the Social Solidarity Pact; why we promulgated the Ten Point Plan; why we urged unions seeking mandates to ballot for industrial action across the South in pursuit of the Transitional Agreement or negotiated alternative. That too – believe it or believe it not delegates – is why the Executive Council of Congress deferred the action scheduled for March 30, last and why we agreed to enter talks with government and employers and it is why within those talks we highlighted the issues of job retention; private sector pensions and protection against home repossessions and why in relation to the public sector we have demanded guarantees against compulsory redundancies; the protection of temporary workers and reassurances against further pay cuts as well as commitments that the pensions levy would be addressed in a structured way in the context of economic recovery.
And it is also, delegates, why the Executive Council concluded unanimously that the proposals which emerged from the talks on June 23, fell short but sought further engagement to see if a platform for agreement could be constructed.
Because we must be prepared to try to find agreement which maximises the prospects for the protection of the livelihoods and advancement of the interests of our members and of working people generally and their families. And it is why, also, that we are engaged with the Construction Industry Council in relation to imaginative proposals which would save 70,000 jobs, preserve our critical skills base and provide physical infrastructure which is so crucial to enhance the productivity of our economy rather than the kindergarten economics of cutting people’s pay. In that regard, I want to make it very clear that we are amenable to working with any and every employer who is prepared to recognise their employees right to organise and be represented by trade unions, to negotiate and comply with collectively negotiated agreements and to treat people fairly, in order to meet the challenge ahead.
I am acutely aware of the level of disillusionment among trade union members and working people generally at our response to the assault on their standard of living and quality of life as it has unfolded to date. I have to say, quite frankly, that it would have been better if we had gone ahead with the day of action on March 30, as a united movement - but it wasn’t going to happen as a united movement.
But let us be clear on this, delegates. This is a marathon not a sprint and we will not successfully meet the challenge with which we are faced by walking around town for a few hours. Let us be clear because there is a great deal of confusion about it. What we decided to do at the Congress meeting of February 24, was to urge unions to conduct ballots to secure mandates for a sustained and relentless campaign of action in pursuit of collectively negotiated agreement.
And in the absence of that I am not going to threaten the Minister for Finance with the riots in the street that seem to pre-occupy his imagination but I believe we can offer instead the prospect of a sustained and relentless industrial campaign conducted workplace by workplace and I believe we can promise him and those who believe that working people should carry the burden of this crisis a response that will not end in one day like a walk about town - or a riot for that matter – but will go on and on, workplace after workplace, and that will be there to meet them every morning they wake up.
I do so in the knowledge that if it has to happen – and I very much hope it doesn’t - that while we will take punishment we will inflict it as well and I am determined to ensure that in so far as I can this movement will not allow any group of workers to be isolated or to have their agreements torn up or to have Labour Court recommendations disregarded and to have avenues of resolution deliberately obstructed. This is why, delegates, I considered it critically important to declare our clear and unequivocal support for the electrician members of the TEEU after their talks at the LRC broke down last Saturday.
In saying all of this I am equally determined to ensure that the battle is conducted in an intelligent way that does not expose union members, or their families, or indeed the ordinary citizens of this island, to unnecessary hardship or potential danger through some blind adventurism.
And all the while being ready and willing to conclude terms for a realistic agreement that respects the interests of working people and our entitlement to dignity at work.
In that regard, I will be making no attempt to camouflage the fact that our government has failed to honour commitments in respect of nine separate pieces of employment protection legislation and their recent exercise in persuading the Heads of Government at the European Council to adopt a solemn declaration affording a high priority to workers rights when they are not prepared to apply it domestically is nothing short of monumental hypocrisy.
Indeed, this is graphically illustrated by the plight of ten contract cleaner members of my own union who are today picketing the office of the Minister for the Environment in the Customs House having been dismissed for no other reason other than that they are members of a trade union.
It is also evident in the application for an all out picket in Dublin Port which is due to be considered by this Congress shortly because a company called Marine Terminals is determined to smash any trade union organisation including an attempt to carry out the mass dismissal of SIPTU members. It was also reflected in the presence here earlier this week of workers employed by Mr Binman a company in the waste disposal industry in support of their colleagues who have also been dismissed for simply seeking to exercise the right to organise.
All this arises in the context of the impending vote on the Lisbon Treaty which, if ratified, would enshrine entitlement to participate in collective bargaining as a fundamental right, which would inevitably entail a prohibition on victimisation for seeking to vindicate that right, but which our government refuses to commit to domestic legislation.
In this context, I believe that the two most significant and potentially far reaching developments of our conference this week were the clear and explicit commitment which seems to have gone unnoticed by the leader of the Labour leader, Eamon Gilmore when he addressed us last Tuesday to enshrine that fundamental right into Irish law if the Treaty is ratified in the October referendum – the other one being our decision to establish a commission on trade union organisation. Lets be frank about it delegates. We are not nearly as well equipped as we should be to address the challenge facing the people we represent over the period ahead and we must address ourselves to this as a matter of the most urgent priority.
Unless and until we do the content of our resolutions will remain little more than aspirational.
I want to assure you that these matters will receive my fullest attention over every day of the next two years and in that regard I look forward to working with every member elected to the incoming Executive Council to ensure that as far as I possibly can that the interests of every member of every union affiliated to this Congress are upheld to the utmost possible degree.
My fundamental objective is to achieve the maximum unity in our trade union and labour movement because it is not just about unity between organisations and institutions but, more profoundly, between the working men and women of this island.
With that in mind I look forward to working with the other officers, with Joe O’Flynn and Patricia King of my own union, and with Eugene McGlone of UNITE and, in particular, I look forward to working with our general secretary, David Begg, whom I hold in the utmost esteem and whom, I have no doubt, is without question the best person to see us through these difficult times.
I’m often reminded of a remark passed by Esther Lynch of the Congress staff in a passing conversation a few years ago. She said; “This is our watch”. We are only the custodians of the proud legacy of the determined, and courageous, working people who founded this Congress and we owe it to them and to our members and working people today and to those who are not yet born to meet the challenge presented by these times and to reassert the objective of fairness at work and justice in society. I promise that I will do everything I can to bring this about and I know that together as a united movement we will overcome.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Honduran people demand return of President
The Honduran people took to the streets of the capital this Sunday to welcome the constitutional president, Manuel Zelaya, but his arrival was frustrated by the military who blocked the runway during a tense day that left two people dead after being fired on by soldiers, and several people wounded.
A huge crowd – calculated by its leaders to be in the hundreds of thousands – marched from mid-morning toward Toncontín international airport, in the largest popular protest since the coup d’état began in the early hours of June 28.
The demonstrators surrounded the airport’s perimeter fence, chanting slogans and waiting for Zelaya’s arrival, and managed to cross Comosa bridge on the outskirts of the airfield.
Thousands of people came together from the wide avenue bordering the airport to the hill at the southern entrance of the facility, where a large contingent of anti-riot police and soldiers were deployed on the runway.
A 16-year-old boy, Fernando Enríquez Sánchez, told Prensa Latina that while they were staging a peaceful protest close to the perimeter fence, they were verbally abused by a military commander and then fired on by the soldiers. He added that he had seen a young man shot in the back of the head, who then collapsed on the public highway.
Other witnesses explained that the other casualty was a young woman who was shot in the face and fired heavy rounds of tear gas grenades on the crowd who were forced to disperse, but a short time later, they returned to the same area, chanting slogans such as “The people united, will never be defeated.”
The plane carrying Zelaya flew over the airport on two occasions late in the evening but was prevented from landing by army troops who blocked the runway. As the plane flew over, the impassioned crowd raised their hands, crying, “Here comes Mel,” the president’s nickname.
Leaders from the Popular Resistance Front, created by the trade unions, campesinos, youth organizations, students, legal agencies, environmentalists and human rights defenders, among others, called for another protest march to take place on Monday in the capital.
Anti-coup demonstrations also took place today in the city of San Pedro Sula, some 250 kilometers north of the capital, according to independent media reports.
Sources from the Cuban embassy in Honduras reported that our compatriots working in that country are safe and well. (PL)
Translated by Granma International
A huge crowd – calculated by its leaders to be in the hundreds of thousands – marched from mid-morning toward Toncontín international airport, in the largest popular protest since the coup d’état began in the early hours of June 28.
The demonstrators surrounded the airport’s perimeter fence, chanting slogans and waiting for Zelaya’s arrival, and managed to cross Comosa bridge on the outskirts of the airfield.
Thousands of people came together from the wide avenue bordering the airport to the hill at the southern entrance of the facility, where a large contingent of anti-riot police and soldiers were deployed on the runway.
A 16-year-old boy, Fernando Enríquez Sánchez, told Prensa Latina that while they were staging a peaceful protest close to the perimeter fence, they were verbally abused by a military commander and then fired on by the soldiers. He added that he had seen a young man shot in the back of the head, who then collapsed on the public highway.
Other witnesses explained that the other casualty was a young woman who was shot in the face and fired heavy rounds of tear gas grenades on the crowd who were forced to disperse, but a short time later, they returned to the same area, chanting slogans such as “The people united, will never be defeated.”
The plane carrying Zelaya flew over the airport on two occasions late in the evening but was prevented from landing by army troops who blocked the runway. As the plane flew over, the impassioned crowd raised their hands, crying, “Here comes Mel,” the president’s nickname.
Leaders from the Popular Resistance Front, created by the trade unions, campesinos, youth organizations, students, legal agencies, environmentalists and human rights defenders, among others, called for another protest march to take place on Monday in the capital.
Anti-coup demonstrations also took place today in the city of San Pedro Sula, some 250 kilometers north of the capital, according to independent media reports.
Sources from the Cuban embassy in Honduras reported that our compatriots working in that country are safe and well. (PL)
Translated by Granma International
CYM support electricians
The Connolly Youth Movement fully support the electricians and their union, the TEEU, in their strike actions they have been forced to resort to following the exhaustion of all alternative processes.
They are a model example of what is needed across this country to ensure workers are not made further pay for the debt created by the establishment.
Now is the time to stand up and show solidarity.
Text your support to radio shows and current affairs programmes. Do not allow the scabs and reactionaries monopolies their media.
CYM
They are a model example of what is needed across this country to ensure workers are not made further pay for the debt created by the establishment.
Now is the time to stand up and show solidarity.
Text your support to radio shows and current affairs programmes. Do not allow the scabs and reactionaries monopolies their media.
CYM
Statement of support for electricians
SIPTU General President Jack O’Connor has pledged his support to the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union in its dispute with the electrical contractors. The TEEU has served notice of strike action by its 10,500 members in the sector starting tomorrow morning. Mr. O’Connor has said that if the TEEU applies for an all-out picket from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions SIPTU will ballot members with a strong recommendation to support the electricians.
In a statement today Mr. O’Connor said, “The TEEU is entirely justified in the action it is proposing and our union believes it is most regrettable that electricians in the TEEU have been forced to engage in such action by reason of the employers’ refusal to negotiate, despite a recommendation from the Labour Court that they should do so.
“The electricians have only served strike notice having exhausted every possible alternative procedure against a background of the declared intention of the employers to implement a pay cut of the order of ten per cent and detrimentally alter other conditions of employment, all of which are in contravention of the Registered Employment Agreement for the industry.
“Ultimately the electricians must be supported by all workers because the employers’ objective of cutting pay and tearing up agreements reflects the primary aim of the wealthy elite in our society, which is, above all else, to preserve their own assets and privileged position. Their shallow analysis of the crisis therefore sees attacks on workers living standards as the best way of repairing the damage done to our economy by the array of speculators, developers and their cronies.
“As soon as the TEEU seeks the support of other trade unionists through the Irish Congress of Trade Unions by applying for an all-out picket, SIPTU will immediately ballot its members affected, with a strong recommendation that they support the electricians.”
In a statement today Mr. O’Connor said, “The TEEU is entirely justified in the action it is proposing and our union believes it is most regrettable that electricians in the TEEU have been forced to engage in such action by reason of the employers’ refusal to negotiate, despite a recommendation from the Labour Court that they should do so.
“The electricians have only served strike notice having exhausted every possible alternative procedure against a background of the declared intention of the employers to implement a pay cut of the order of ten per cent and detrimentally alter other conditions of employment, all of which are in contravention of the Registered Employment Agreement for the industry.
“Ultimately the electricians must be supported by all workers because the employers’ objective of cutting pay and tearing up agreements reflects the primary aim of the wealthy elite in our society, which is, above all else, to preserve their own assets and privileged position. Their shallow analysis of the crisis therefore sees attacks on workers living standards as the best way of repairing the damage done to our economy by the array of speculators, developers and their cronies.
“As soon as the TEEU seeks the support of other trade unionists through the Irish Congress of Trade Unions by applying for an all-out picket, SIPTU will immediately ballot its members affected, with a strong recommendation that they support the electricians.”
Electricians on strike to defend rights
The TEEU has now served Employers with notice of Strike Action from 6th July 2009.
This Strike Action against Employers in the Electrical contracting industry is to safeguard Registered Employment Agreements and needs the full support of TEEU members.
Success will ensure that Registered Employment Agreements will continue to serve the industry to benefit our members but success will also make Employers think twice before launching an attack on other agreements that serve our members through-out the State.
ENJIC Branches are now meeting weekly in Dublin Cork Waterford Limerick Galway
Contact your Regional Office for details.
Get Involved, Stay Involved................Before it’s too late.
Contact the TEEU Information Officer @ 01-8719903.
This Strike Action against Employers in the Electrical contracting industry is to safeguard Registered Employment Agreements and needs the full support of TEEU members.
Success will ensure that Registered Employment Agreements will continue to serve the industry to benefit our members but success will also make Employers think twice before launching an attack on other agreements that serve our members through-out the State.
ENJIC Branches are now meeting weekly in Dublin Cork Waterford Limerick Galway
Contact your Regional Office for details.
Get Involved, Stay Involved................Before it’s too late.
Contact the TEEU Information Officer @ 01-8719903.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Comprehensive analysis of the uprising in Iran - Tudeh Party
The following is a brief by the Tudeh Party of Iran sent to international workers and communist parties to help explain the background of the ongoing struggles for democracy in Iran.
Background to the election
Iran entered the 10th presidential election in difficult socio-economic conditions. Four years of Ahmadinejad's government and the neo-liberal policies it pursued (dictated by the IMF and World Bank) meant that the overwhelming majority of the Iranian working class and working people were suffering from unprecedented hardship and poverty. Examination of the policies of Ahmadinejad’s administration reveals the specific characteristics of the direction taken by this government, which is affiliated to grand mercantile capitalism and the bureaucratic bourgeoisie of the country, and some of the reasons behind the people’s mass movement against this reactionary regime. The principal direction of the socio-economic policies of Ahmadinejad’s government and some of its consequences can be summarised as follows:
the rest of the article can be viewed at http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/16101/
Background to the election
Iran entered the 10th presidential election in difficult socio-economic conditions. Four years of Ahmadinejad's government and the neo-liberal policies it pursued (dictated by the IMF and World Bank) meant that the overwhelming majority of the Iranian working class and working people were suffering from unprecedented hardship and poverty. Examination of the policies of Ahmadinejad’s administration reveals the specific characteristics of the direction taken by this government, which is affiliated to grand mercantile capitalism and the bureaucratic bourgeoisie of the country, and some of the reasons behind the people’s mass movement against this reactionary regime. The principal direction of the socio-economic policies of Ahmadinejad’s government and some of its consequences can be summarised as follows:
the rest of the article can be viewed at http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/16101/
German Court on Lisbon
The German Constitutional Court this week ruled on the constitutionality of the Lisbon Treaty and while finding the Treaty compatible with the German Constitution it has withheld immediate ratification of the Treaty due to the significant transfer’s of sovereignty that the Treaty entails. It appears the Court is demanding a law be enacted that guarantees the rights of the German Parliament to be involved in EU decision-making.
According to the German Constitutional Court the German Lower House and Upper House “have not been accorded sufficient rights of participation in European lawmaking procedures and treaty amendment procedures.”
“The Basic Law does not grant the German state bodies powers to transfer sovereign powers in such a way that their exercise can independently establish other competences for the European Union.”
In addition Open Europe has published a poll showing 77% of German voters want a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
This ruling once again highlights the significant loss of sovereign power Ireland faces if Lisbon is passed. It is vital for democracy across Europe that people Vote No to the Lisbon Treaty AGAIN.
CYM NEC
According to the German Constitutional Court the German Lower House and Upper House “have not been accorded sufficient rights of participation in European lawmaking procedures and treaty amendment procedures.”
“The Basic Law does not grant the German state bodies powers to transfer sovereign powers in such a way that their exercise can independently establish other competences for the European Union.”
In addition Open Europe has published a poll showing 77% of German voters want a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
This ruling once again highlights the significant loss of sovereign power Ireland faces if Lisbon is passed. It is vital for democracy across Europe that people Vote No to the Lisbon Treaty AGAIN.
CYM NEC
Friday, July 3, 2009
Join Statement by the Sudanese CP and Tudeh Party of Iran
Recently, representatives of the Central Committees of the Tudeh Party of Iran and the Sudanese Communist Party exchanged views and consulted on the political situation unfolding in Iran, in light of the rigged elections of June 12th and the mass protests that quickly took place and began to gain momentum shortly thereafter. The two parties discussed the political situation in their respective countries and the conditions in which the struggle for peace, human rights, democracy and social justice is taking place. Based on their discussion and deliberations the leaderships of the two fraternal parties hereby issue the following statement:
The existing electoral process in Iran is a mockery of democracy, designed to disenfranchise the Iranian electorate. Its entire set up is not related to the pursuit and furthering of democracy or any concept of progress within Iranian society but to keep the reins of power firmly in the hands of the despotic theocratic regime regardless of the wishes and aspirations of the Iranian people. Despite using every method to orientate the electoral process in their favour, the ruling guard of the theocracy still sought fit to directly rig the outcome of the ballots cast on the day of the election.
The two parties observed that the Iranian people have demonstrated their revulsion towards this dictatorship through the ballet box and then further with widespread peaceful protests in the wake of the news of the fraudulent result.
Both parties strongly condemn the sham re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad which has been directly supported and ratified by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. The clerical regime has demonstrated the depth of its bankruptcy by mobilisation the state security apparatus including the vicious and feared paramilitary forces against peaceful demonstrators. Representatives of the Iranian and Sudanese Communist Parties condemned the killing and injuring of hundreds of innocent citizens and arrest of more than 800 activists including leaders of the reform movement.
Representative of the Sudanese Communist Party stated that his party “shares the analysis of the Tudeh Party of Iran that the struggle currently being waged by large sections of Iranian society for the fair and due processing of their votes is a deeply genuine struggle for democracy and must be respected. Sudanese Communists join their Iranian counterparts in expressing their serious concern and alarm over the obvious falsification of the election results and the brutal treatment of those protesting against this shameful policies and actions of the Iranian regime.”
“We condemn the brutal and violent suppression of the Iranian people’s democratic rights to protest against what they perceive to have been an unfair and fraudulently conducted election. These events have once again exposed the brutal and reactionary nature of the Islamic republic.”
The two parties support the demands of the mass popular movement and its leadership for the continuation of the people’s exercise of their right to demonstrate peacefully and the nullification of the rigged June 12th ballot and holding of fresh elections.
We demand the release of all political prisoners and those arrested over the recent weeks. We call for all those responsible for the rigging of the election and subsequent suppression of demonstrators to be tried in open courts of law. We stand in solidarity with Iran's trade unions, working people, women, students and all of Iran's democratic forces in their brave and unflinching struggle for liberty and democracy.
The Sudanese Communist Party firmly reiterate their support and enthusiasm for the major part that the women’s movement in Iran have played in the recent popular movement in their pursuit of equality, a better position for women in Iranian society and for an end to stifling traditional patriarchy.
The Sudanese communists also support and applaud the struggle of Iran’s progressive intellectuals, artists and journalists against censorship and for freedom of expression and right to be published.
They join the Tudeh Party in steadfastly condemning the limitations placed by the Islamic regime on the Iranian population, its repression of any dissent and the brutal tactics it has employed to put down any sign of opposition.
The representative of the Central Committee of Tudeh Party of Iran expressed support for the struggle of the Sudanese democratic forces and communists against repression, reactionary and dictatorial laws of censorship, and for democratic rights including the right to freedom of expression, assembly, and freedom of the press. Tudeh Party of Iran supports the struggle to achieve a democratic and peaceful solution to the Darfour problem with the active participation of the people of Darfour and their political organisations as well as all the Sudanese political parties and interested civil society organisation.
Both the Tudeh Party of Iran and the Sudanese Communist Party believe that respect for human rights and democracy are the fundamental prerequisites in any society for the development of social justice.
Sudanese Communist Party
Tudeh Party of Iran
The existing electoral process in Iran is a mockery of democracy, designed to disenfranchise the Iranian electorate. Its entire set up is not related to the pursuit and furthering of democracy or any concept of progress within Iranian society but to keep the reins of power firmly in the hands of the despotic theocratic regime regardless of the wishes and aspirations of the Iranian people. Despite using every method to orientate the electoral process in their favour, the ruling guard of the theocracy still sought fit to directly rig the outcome of the ballots cast on the day of the election.
The two parties observed that the Iranian people have demonstrated their revulsion towards this dictatorship through the ballet box and then further with widespread peaceful protests in the wake of the news of the fraudulent result.
Both parties strongly condemn the sham re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad which has been directly supported and ratified by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. The clerical regime has demonstrated the depth of its bankruptcy by mobilisation the state security apparatus including the vicious and feared paramilitary forces against peaceful demonstrators. Representatives of the Iranian and Sudanese Communist Parties condemned the killing and injuring of hundreds of innocent citizens and arrest of more than 800 activists including leaders of the reform movement.
Representative of the Sudanese Communist Party stated that his party “shares the analysis of the Tudeh Party of Iran that the struggle currently being waged by large sections of Iranian society for the fair and due processing of their votes is a deeply genuine struggle for democracy and must be respected. Sudanese Communists join their Iranian counterparts in expressing their serious concern and alarm over the obvious falsification of the election results and the brutal treatment of those protesting against this shameful policies and actions of the Iranian regime.”
“We condemn the brutal and violent suppression of the Iranian people’s democratic rights to protest against what they perceive to have been an unfair and fraudulently conducted election. These events have once again exposed the brutal and reactionary nature of the Islamic republic.”
The two parties support the demands of the mass popular movement and its leadership for the continuation of the people’s exercise of their right to demonstrate peacefully and the nullification of the rigged June 12th ballot and holding of fresh elections.
We demand the release of all political prisoners and those arrested over the recent weeks. We call for all those responsible for the rigging of the election and subsequent suppression of demonstrators to be tried in open courts of law. We stand in solidarity with Iran's trade unions, working people, women, students and all of Iran's democratic forces in their brave and unflinching struggle for liberty and democracy.
The Sudanese Communist Party firmly reiterate their support and enthusiasm for the major part that the women’s movement in Iran have played in the recent popular movement in their pursuit of equality, a better position for women in Iranian society and for an end to stifling traditional patriarchy.
The Sudanese communists also support and applaud the struggle of Iran’s progressive intellectuals, artists and journalists against censorship and for freedom of expression and right to be published.
They join the Tudeh Party in steadfastly condemning the limitations placed by the Islamic regime on the Iranian population, its repression of any dissent and the brutal tactics it has employed to put down any sign of opposition.
The representative of the Central Committee of Tudeh Party of Iran expressed support for the struggle of the Sudanese democratic forces and communists against repression, reactionary and dictatorial laws of censorship, and for democratic rights including the right to freedom of expression, assembly, and freedom of the press. Tudeh Party of Iran supports the struggle to achieve a democratic and peaceful solution to the Darfour problem with the active participation of the people of Darfour and their political organisations as well as all the Sudanese political parties and interested civil society organisation.
Both the Tudeh Party of Iran and the Sudanese Communist Party believe that respect for human rights and democracy are the fundamental prerequisites in any society for the development of social justice.
Sudanese Communist Party
Tudeh Party of Iran
Statement by Miami 5 on Honduras
DEAR compañero Manuel Zelaya, the sole and dignified constitutional president of Honduras:
Profound indignation has shaken our cells in the face of the brutal coup d’état in your homeland, reminiscent of a past that is still fresh in the historic memory of Central America.
It would appear that the sinister failed plot in Caracas and then successfully applied in Haiti is now seeking, with its dress rehearsal in Middle America, to reverse the inevitable historic tendency of our peoples toward overcoming their neocolonial conspiracies. Today it is the turn of the Honduran people, under your dignified leadership and in an America that is no longer the same, to take up the honorable challenge of permanently interring fascism, as an instrument of the outdated reactionary oligarchies for whom homeland is synonymous with miserable privileges.
Like you, we know from first-hand experience the brutality of being awoken by armed guards, being taken half-dressed from our homes, the ignoble utilization of judicial power to justify the crime, the employment of threats to demand renunciation, and of the starkest use of lies for perverse aims.
We also know of the joy inspired by the opportune combative expression of a daughter, the unconditional commitment of the family, or the clamor of universal solidarity, or the incomparable love of an entire people.
Identifying with your dignified position, a reflection of your moral superiority over the usurpers, we extend to you, from the empire’s prisons which, in the last 10 years, have never been able to incarcerate our dignity as revolutionary Cubans, the expressions of our unconditional support and the certainty that your people, armed with their own decency and their love of justice, will also overcome.
A strong embrace from the Five.
Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio, Fernando y René
June 28, 2009.
Profound indignation has shaken our cells in the face of the brutal coup d’état in your homeland, reminiscent of a past that is still fresh in the historic memory of Central America.
It would appear that the sinister failed plot in Caracas and then successfully applied in Haiti is now seeking, with its dress rehearsal in Middle America, to reverse the inevitable historic tendency of our peoples toward overcoming their neocolonial conspiracies. Today it is the turn of the Honduran people, under your dignified leadership and in an America that is no longer the same, to take up the honorable challenge of permanently interring fascism, as an instrument of the outdated reactionary oligarchies for whom homeland is synonymous with miserable privileges.
Like you, we know from first-hand experience the brutality of being awoken by armed guards, being taken half-dressed from our homes, the ignoble utilization of judicial power to justify the crime, the employment of threats to demand renunciation, and of the starkest use of lies for perverse aims.
We also know of the joy inspired by the opportune combative expression of a daughter, the unconditional commitment of the family, or the clamor of universal solidarity, or the incomparable love of an entire people.
Identifying with your dignified position, a reflection of your moral superiority over the usurpers, we extend to you, from the empire’s prisons which, in the last 10 years, have never been able to incarcerate our dignity as revolutionary Cubans, the expressions of our unconditional support and the certainty that your people, armed with their own decency and their love of justice, will also overcome.
A strong embrace from the Five.
Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio, Fernando y René
June 28, 2009.
AKEL, Cyprus, Statement on Honduras
Nicosia 1 July 2009
AKEL condemns the recent military coup in Honduras which led to the overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya and his expulsion to Costa Rica.
This barbarian and condemnable action by officials of the armed forces and reactionary forces in Honduras recalls in our memory the fascist coups and dictatorships that for decades existed in a number of Latin American countries.
We also condemn the attack by the coupists against the Ambassadors of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua in Honduras, as well as against the Foreign Minister of Honduras Patricia Rodas. This action represents a flagrant violation of International Law and the principles of the United Nations and reveals the real intentions, reactionary character and ideological orientation of the coupist forces in Honduras.
It is evident that the motives of the coupists are guided by their opposition to the policies followed by President Manuel Zelaya in relation to the initiation of changes in the Constitution, as well as to the participation of the country in the policies of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americans (ALBA), which Honduras had become a member of under the government of Zelaya. Moreover, it is not by chance that the coup took place just a few days after the Summit meeting of ALBA.
Subsequently, we consider every form of foreign interventions in support of the coupists as condemnable and we demand the immediate reinstatement of democratic legality in Honduras, with the restoration of the constitutionally-elected government of M. Zelaya.
Finally, we express our solidarity with the people of Honduras and its struggles to reinstate democratic legality in the country.
AKEL condemns the recent military coup in Honduras which led to the overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya and his expulsion to Costa Rica.
This barbarian and condemnable action by officials of the armed forces and reactionary forces in Honduras recalls in our memory the fascist coups and dictatorships that for decades existed in a number of Latin American countries.
We also condemn the attack by the coupists against the Ambassadors of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua in Honduras, as well as against the Foreign Minister of Honduras Patricia Rodas. This action represents a flagrant violation of International Law and the principles of the United Nations and reveals the real intentions, reactionary character and ideological orientation of the coupist forces in Honduras.
It is evident that the motives of the coupists are guided by their opposition to the policies followed by President Manuel Zelaya in relation to the initiation of changes in the Constitution, as well as to the participation of the country in the policies of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americans (ALBA), which Honduras had become a member of under the government of Zelaya. Moreover, it is not by chance that the coup took place just a few days after the Summit meeting of ALBA.
Subsequently, we consider every form of foreign interventions in support of the coupists as condemnable and we demand the immediate reinstatement of democratic legality in Honduras, with the restoration of the constitutionally-elected government of M. Zelaya.
Finally, we express our solidarity with the people of Honduras and its struggles to reinstate democratic legality in the country.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
CYM on Honduras
The Connolly Youth Movement condemns in the strongest possible terms the military coup that has taken place in the Republic of Honduras. The kidnapping and exiling from the country of, the democratic and rightful President, Manuel Zelaya, is an outrageous affront to democracy and stinks of US involvement.
The Connolly Youth Movement calls for President Zelaya to be returned to power in Honduras and for thosetraitors in the military, who moved against him, to stand down. The CYM echoes the words spoken by the Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla in denouncing “the criminal and brutal character of this coup d’état.”
The CYM is particularly concerned about the kidnapping of the Honduran Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas. Ms Rodas’s whereabouts are still unknown since she was abducted by a group of soldiers whose faces were covered in balaclavas. This is in clear opposition to the Vienna Convention and international law. This is a particularly worrying situation and Ms Rodas must be released immediately and unconditionally without being harmed.
The CYM also condemns the treatment of the Cuban Ambassador, Juan Carlos Hernandez and the Venezuelan Ambassador Armando Laguna. The mistreatment, beating and the theft of the mobile phones of these diplomats is unacceptable behaviour by the Honduran military.
This military coup is a particularly worrying development as it may destabilize the wider Central American area. Honduras shares borders with Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. There is a fear that Hondura scould be used by the United States as a staging ground, as it was in the past, to undermine leftist presidents Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and Mauricio Funes in El Salvador, as well as Guatemala, where there is already a real danger of a coup against President Alvaro Colom.
The Connolly Youth Movement supports the ongoing efforts by the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) to reverse this coup.
The Connolly Youth Movement sees President Manuel Zelaya as the only legitimate President of the Republic of Honduras.
He must be restored immediately to govern the country.
National Executive
Connolly Youth Movement
The Connolly Youth Movement calls for President Zelaya to be returned to power in Honduras and for thosetraitors in the military, who moved against him, to stand down. The CYM echoes the words spoken by the Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla in denouncing “the criminal and brutal character of this coup d’état.”
The CYM is particularly concerned about the kidnapping of the Honduran Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas. Ms Rodas’s whereabouts are still unknown since she was abducted by a group of soldiers whose faces were covered in balaclavas. This is in clear opposition to the Vienna Convention and international law. This is a particularly worrying situation and Ms Rodas must be released immediately and unconditionally without being harmed.
The CYM also condemns the treatment of the Cuban Ambassador, Juan Carlos Hernandez and the Venezuelan Ambassador Armando Laguna. The mistreatment, beating and the theft of the mobile phones of these diplomats is unacceptable behaviour by the Honduran military.
This military coup is a particularly worrying development as it may destabilize the wider Central American area. Honduras shares borders with Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. There is a fear that Hondura scould be used by the United States as a staging ground, as it was in the past, to undermine leftist presidents Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and Mauricio Funes in El Salvador, as well as Guatemala, where there is already a real danger of a coup against President Alvaro Colom.
The Connolly Youth Movement supports the ongoing efforts by the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) to reverse this coup.
The Connolly Youth Movement sees President Manuel Zelaya as the only legitimate President of the Republic of Honduras.
He must be restored immediately to govern the country.
National Executive
Connolly Youth Movement
CPI, Statement on the coup in Honduras
The coup d’état in Honduras shows that the old habits of the privileged oligarchies of Latin America have not gone away. Even the moderate proposals of President Zelaya for a consultation of the people towards a consideration of constitutional change were not acceptable to them, so fearful are they of losing their privileges.
The coup follows a familiar pattern:- a massive media campaign, with the participation of NGOs funded from the USA, - “Paz y Democracia”, for example, culminating with the kidnapping of the President, even to claiming that he had resigned.
It is an attempt to set back the democratic progress which the peoples of Latin America have been making in recent years, and to restore Honduras as a base for reaction, as it was during Reagan’s dirty war against Sandinista Nicaragua. It brings back unhappy memories of what many Latin American countries suffered at the hands of the military regimes installed with the help of the USA in the 20th century.
This coup has been repudiated, and the reinstatement of the President demanded, by the countries of Alba (Bolivarian Alternative for America), by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, and by the Secretary General of the Organisation of American States. The Rio Group, which represents the countries of Latin America and the Carribean, and the European Union have expressed support for that position.
As President Lula of Brazil put it - “We cannot, in the 21st century, allow a military coup in Latin America. It is unacceptable. We cannot recognise the new government. We must ensure the return of the democratically elected government.”
The United States government, while stating its opposition to the coup, could not bring itself to demand the immediate reinstatement of President Zelaya, instead, in its statement on Sunday 28th June, calling for dialogue. Dialogue with whom? The putschists? A more forthright statement is called for.
The Communist Party of Ireland calls on all democrats to show their solidarity with the popular forces in Honduras, who defied the curfew to demonstrate at the Presidential palace, not only in their demand for the return of the President, but in their continuing struggle for a broader and deeper democracy in which the mass of the people can participate.
Communist Party of Ireland
The coup follows a familiar pattern:- a massive media campaign, with the participation of NGOs funded from the USA, - “Paz y Democracia”, for example, culminating with the kidnapping of the President, even to claiming that he had resigned.
It is an attempt to set back the democratic progress which the peoples of Latin America have been making in recent years, and to restore Honduras as a base for reaction, as it was during Reagan’s dirty war against Sandinista Nicaragua. It brings back unhappy memories of what many Latin American countries suffered at the hands of the military regimes installed with the help of the USA in the 20th century.
This coup has been repudiated, and the reinstatement of the President demanded, by the countries of Alba (Bolivarian Alternative for America), by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, and by the Secretary General of the Organisation of American States. The Rio Group, which represents the countries of Latin America and the Carribean, and the European Union have expressed support for that position.
As President Lula of Brazil put it - “We cannot, in the 21st century, allow a military coup in Latin America. It is unacceptable. We cannot recognise the new government. We must ensure the return of the democratically elected government.”
The United States government, while stating its opposition to the coup, could not bring itself to demand the immediate reinstatement of President Zelaya, instead, in its statement on Sunday 28th June, calling for dialogue. Dialogue with whom? The putschists? A more forthright statement is called for.
The Communist Party of Ireland calls on all democrats to show their solidarity with the popular forces in Honduras, who defied the curfew to demonstrate at the Presidential palace, not only in their demand for the return of the President, but in their continuing struggle for a broader and deeper democracy in which the mass of the people can participate.
Communist Party of Ireland
WFDY Statement on Lisbon 2
The World Federation of Democratic Youth denounces the ongoing manoeuvres by the European Council to impose to the Irish people and, by that way, to all the people of European Union member states the so-called “Lisbon Treaty”, also known as European Reform Treaty.
The European Council is trying to bring back to life this Treaty that was rejected last year in a referendum by the Irish people, and this way, according to the procedure established by the European Council itself, making it impossible to be implemented in any of the European Union member states.
This manoeuvre of making a new referendum is similar to what happened with so called “Treaty of Nice”, once again shows the anti-democratic character of the “Lisbon Treaty”, a document that aims to impose to the peoples of the member states of the European Union guidelines of less rights, more privatizations and more militarism (particularly by strengthening the bounds between EU and NATO).
The concept of democracy of the European Union is to impose their will to the people, and to respect the electoral results only when they are in their benefit. This is the same concept of democracy that criminalizes all those who struggle, and firstly the progressive and communist organizations.
WFDY calls upon all its member and friendly organizations, particularly the organizations of the member states of the EU, to denounce the ongoing manoeuvre of the European Council and to reinforce the struggles that will lead to defeat imperialism and its policies!
The European Council is trying to bring back to life this Treaty that was rejected last year in a referendum by the Irish people, and this way, according to the procedure established by the European Council itself, making it impossible to be implemented in any of the European Union member states.
This manoeuvre of making a new referendum is similar to what happened with so called “Treaty of Nice”, once again shows the anti-democratic character of the “Lisbon Treaty”, a document that aims to impose to the peoples of the member states of the European Union guidelines of less rights, more privatizations and more militarism (particularly by strengthening the bounds between EU and NATO).
The concept of democracy of the European Union is to impose their will to the people, and to respect the electoral results only when they are in their benefit. This is the same concept of democracy that criminalizes all those who struggle, and firstly the progressive and communist organizations.
WFDY calls upon all its member and friendly organizations, particularly the organizations of the member states of the EU, to denounce the ongoing manoeuvre of the European Council and to reinforce the struggles that will lead to defeat imperialism and its policies!
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