AROUND
THE WORLD
COLOMBIA
Campaign against repression THE Colombian political organization A Luchar supported a boycott of the legislative elections. Subsequently a group of its members were arrested and are still being held in Cali prison. The organization has now launched a campaign around the following themes: respect for its right to function as a political organization; freedom for the Cali prisoners; political guarantees to allow it to make known its boycott campaign before the next elections; an end to state violence against women.
This latter demand comes after the torture and rape in prison of Elizabeth Suarez, an A Luchar militant in Cali. But the women of A Luchar are not restricting their campaign to their own movement and have appealed to "all women from all sections of society to take part in a broad, united campaign at both the national and international levels."
They want to denounce all the daily attacks that women suffer in public and in private as well as those inflicted by the police and military. Daniel Libreros, a member of A Luchar's national executive, will be visiting Europe in May and June to inform people about the situation in Colombia. *
SOUTH AFRICA Socialist organization formed IN THE new and rapidly changing situation in South Africa, important debates on political orientation and public profile are taking place in every political current.
It is in this context that a number of groups of the socialist left have come together to form a national organization, the Workers Organization for Socialist Action (WOSA). Among the groups involved in this initiative are the Cape Action League and Action Youth. According to WOSA's founding statement:
"The resurgence of mass struggles, the ever-increasing participation and radicalization of both rural and urban masses, and the era of reform and negotiation, all create opportunities and dangers. This lends enormous urgency to the task of forming and building a socialist organization..... (point 2)
"The organization will give support to national liberation organizations insofar as they advance the struggle against oppression and exploitation, but will at the same time strive to put forward working class interests in the struggle. It is committed to the tactic of the united front to enable it to act in a manner that places the interests of the working class first on its agenda.... (point 4)
"WOSA, Workers Organization for
Socialist Action, is a unitary organization which was formed at its inaugural national conference held in
Cape Town on April 14 and 15, 1990.
It comprises independent political groupings, some of which are in the process of dissolving, as well as individuals in various parts of the coun try.
"Our basic principles are the following, leadership by the black working class, anti-imperialism, anticapitalism, anti-racism, anti-sexism, one-person, one-vote in a non-racial undivided, unitary country, and we believe in collective leadership, accountability, and democracy....
"Central to our programme of action will be issues affecting the black working class in particular, and the oppressed and exploited people in general, such as housing, land, educaing women, wages and issues aftect 13 tion, health, wages and issues affecting women." * May 7, 1990 • #184 International Viewpoint
SOUTH KOREA «We are not machines"