AROUND THE WORLD
Canada Counter-summit WHEN United States President Ronald Reagan and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney meet in Ottawa on Sunday, April 5 they will be confronted by thousands of angry people protesting against the brutal US-backed war in Central America.
Joining protesters against the war, and against Canadian government complicity with US militarism, will be opponents of Mulroney's anti-worker trade and social policies, acid rain, federal restrictions on women's choice on abortion, cutbacks in education, and de-regulation/de-nationalization of basic public services.
Very broad Summit Protest Coalitions have been formed already in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal to organize and transport thousands to the march and rally at Parliament Hill.
The Toronto Coalition was initiated by the Toronto Anti-Intervention Coalition, Tools for Peace and Canadian Action for Nicaragua. It quickly attracted a wide array of anti-militarist, disarmament, solidarity, church, environmental, students' and women's rights groups.
Because the Washington Contragate scandal continues to attract world attention, opposition to the war in Central America should be the dominant theme of the Summit Protest.
Millions of people around the world have been witness to the public exposure of systematic lying, cheating , and murder, all in violation of US law, that is at the heart of US foreign policy. Canadians and Quebecois will have the unique opportunity to make their feelings known directly to the chief world imperialist, Reagan, and his silent partner-in-crime, Mulroney.
Demonstrations in Ottawa will also want to distinguish our outrage over secret, illegal US funding of the mercenary contras attacking Nicaragua, from the hypocritical protests of right wing US politicians upset about the delivery of arms to Iran.
On the same weekend a Counter-Summit will be held in Ottawa. Unfortunately, this event, sponsored by the ultra-nationalist Council of Canadians with some support 26 from the leadership of the Canadian Labour Congress - will advocate protectionism and take the side of Canadian business interests in the current round of inter-imperialist rivalry between Canada and the US that will be a feature of the leaders' talks.
April 5 will be the first in a series of Central America anti-intervention protests this Spring. On April 25 major mass demonstrations will occur in Washington DC and San Francisco, California. Some Canadians will travel to take part in these actions. Others will distribute anti-intervention literature at disarmament demonstrations in Vancouver, Toronto and elsewhere in Canada that day.
And in numerous cities across the country on June 6 there will be demonstrations focusing on opposition to the war in Central America, and demanding that the Canadian goverment condemn US intervention, increase aid and trade to Nicaragua and suspend aid to the bloody US-backed dictatorships in the region.
The broadest possible unity in action of solidarity, anti-nuclear and labour movement forces leading up to the Ottawa Summit Protest can prove the way towards a much more effective anti-war movement across English Canada and Quebec. All out for Ottawa on April 5! D New Caledonia Anti-Kanak offensive THE CHIRAC government has been taking a harder and harder line against the Kanak independence movement in New Caledonia. The crackdown started with the beefing up of the French garrison (8,000 soldiers, one for every eight Kanaks). Then there was the Pons Law, which legitimized this militarization, repealed all landholding reforms benefiting the Kanaks, and cut off credits to regional councils favoring independence.
This offensive has gone into a new stage with the announcement that this summer a referendum is to be held on a basis totally satisfactory to the colonialist right.
Anyone who has been in the territory for more than three years will have the right to vote, and the choice is between "autonomy with France" or "independence against France."
This amounts to endorsing the
European immigration over the last 30 years that has put the Kanak people in a minority in their own land.
Bernard Pons, French minister for the overseas territories, recently visited New Caledonia. He refused to meet with the independence movement leaders. He met only with a few traditional chiefs and some proFrench Melanesian villagers, in a mockery of the aspirations of an entire people.
The minister went so far as to attribute the fight for independence to ideological manipulation by "French leftists." Speaking to a handful of pro-French Kanaks, he said "go and preach the good word to your brothers and sisters who have been deluded, and explain to them that they have been whipped up by Europeans belonging to the Revolutionary Communist League [French section of the Fourth International], who have come to New Caledonia to advance Marxist thinking and totalitarian ideology." (Le Monde, February 10, 1987.)
The Chirac government is speeding up its offensive to head off the diplo. matic campaign of the FLNKS [the Kanak nationalist organization], take advantage of the delay in mobilization in recent months and try to cement a consensus of political parties around the form of the referendum. When it was in power, in fact, the Socialist Party considered applying the same criteria for voting.
In its convention in early February at Arama, in the northern part of the island, the FLNKS reaffirmed its position that only the colonized people, the Kanak people, should have the right to vote in a referendum on self-determination. Privately the FLNKS leaders say that they are ready to negotiate on participation by the "victims of history," third generation European Caledonians born in the territory. On this point, Paris is refusing any discussion.
So, unless there is some last minute government concession or retreat by the FLNKS, it seems that the independence forces will boycott the referendum. Whether this boycott is passive or active - as it was in November 1984, but which is more difficult now given the military forces present - a referendum held in these conditions cannot in any way solve the Caledonian question.
The situation is more explosive than ever and anti-colonialists have to remain on the alert.
South Africa Political prisoners ACCORDING to the Detainees' Parents Support Committee, a democratic South African organization, last year a total of 28,471 people were detained for political reasons, with 25,000 of these being held because of the state of emergency.
Among this 25,000, around 10,000, or 40% were under the age of 18.
The United Democratic Front (UDF) and its affiliates have been hit hardest by this repression, with 75% of the detainees belonging to it. After this, the unions have been most affected - a specific feature of this state of emergency in comparison with that of 1985, which barely touched the unions. Women represented about 10% of total prisoners.
Two of the detainees died during their imprisonment, and there were 75 legal cases denouncing the use of torture on prisoners.
The Metal and Allied Workers Union (MAWU), a member of the COSATU trade-union federation, stepped up its campaign for the release of its general secretary, Moses Mayekiso. After seven months in prison, the police are still unable to produce a real charge against him. There are other MAWU members in prison: Veli Mjiako, officer on the Johannesburg shop stewards council; Gerald Dan, delegate from the Siemens factory in Pretoria; Isaac Mahlong, delegate from the STC factory in Benoni; and Silvester Siboza, an activist at Ferrometals in Witbank. Sri Lanka Protest at arrests THE SRI LANKA Research and Information Group in London reported February 7 that on the previous day in Rattanapitiya, Sri Lanka, Special Branch police raided the Community Resource Centre Press and arrested Mr T.N. Perera and Mr Wijesundera. The two were detailed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which enables the police to hold them for 18 months without trial and without preferring any charges against them.
According to the London Group, the police gave no reasons for the arrests, but brought with them a leaflet that had been printed at the Community Resource Centre Press
(CRC). The CRC had printed the leaflet on behalf of the Independent University Students Union, in accordance with its policy as a resource centre for community groups.
In the leaflet, the students union denounced the murder of its president, who was kidnapped and murdered in December 1986. It did not even accuse the government or police of implication in the murder. It rather attributed the act to the JVP, which the London group describes as a Sinhala chauvinist group. In fact, the JVP is a proscribed organization, blamed by the government for the anti-Tamil riots of 1983, although none of its leaders have been arrested and it continues to operate more or
The Sri Lanka Research and Information Group noted "so far the police have failed to arrest anyone for the murder of the student leader. On the other hand, the police have arrested many members of the student union who have been the victims of JVP attacks."
Perera is a prominent citizen of the area. Before the government abolished the local government institutions, he was Village Council member for the district and he is secretary of the Rattanapitiya Death Benefit Society, an important community organization. He is also a journalist who has written regularly for the newspaper Janahanda, known for campaigning for a peaceful political solution to the ethnic conflict and against human rights violations.
Wijesundera is a printworker who had worked at the Ceylon Mercantile Union Press for more than ten years. He began working for the CRC press only in September 1986.
These arrests occurred in the context of a new government offensive against the Tamils in the northern and eastern provinces. The Sri Lanka Research and Information Group has asked for protests to be sent to the Sri Lankan President, J.R. Jayawardene, at President's House, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka, with a copy to the Officer in Charge Mirthana Police Station, Mirihana, Sri Lanka, and a copy to the Sri Lanka Research and Information, 9, Gray's Inn Buildings, London EC1, England. It also suggests that defenders of civil liberties write to the Resource Centre itself, at 119 University Road, Rattanapitiya, Boralesgamuwa, Sr Lanka, expressing their support and solidarity.
The Ceylon Mercantile, Industrial and General Workers' Union (CMU) has called for a "Day of action in pursuance of the struggle for democratic and human rights and peace and justice in this country" on March 5. On February 7 the union issued an appeal for international support in exercising its democratic right to protest.
In the appeal, the union secretary, Bala Tampoe, noted: "Under the existing 'State of Emergency'... the government is in a position to prevent our proposed strike on March 5 by a new regulation....
"Furthermore, if our members distribute leaflets 'amongst the public' or affix posters 'in any place visible to the public without the permission of the Inspector-General of Police or any police officer authorized in that behalf, they will be liable to be arrested and detained by the police." Moreover, "the Municipal Commissioner of Colombo ... can refuse permission to our union for the use of any public park or place in the city of Colombo." Tampoe asked for letters and telegrams supporting the union's right to protest to be sent immediately to the country's president (see address above) or to Hon. R. Premadasa, Prime Minister's Office, Colombo. Italy LCR meets with DP THE national secretariats of Democrazia Proletaria and the Liga Comunista Rivoluzionaria (Italian section of the Fourth International) met on January 28, and discussed the strategic and programmatic questions confronting the two parties.
Discussing the political analysis of each organization led to an exchange of views on the present situation in Italy and an evaluation of the possibility of joint initiatives.
The two delegations agreed in particular on the need to strengthen the class-struggle component of the trade unions. The main elements of this are support for present workers' struggles, highlighting the experiences of self-organization of the railworkers, teachers and school staff, and solidarity with the Genovese dockers' exemplary resistance to the restructuring of the port. Also emphasized was the urgency of taking a political initiative in support of the proposal of a referendum on nuclear power and against any attempt to block the people giving their say on this.
There was agreement on the needs for channels of communication between the two organizations at the level of the national secretariat and of comrades responsible for different areas of work, as well as for a regular exchange of publications and material in order to improve collaboration on the urgent political questions outlined above.
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