| PEOPLE'S VOICE |
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Internet
Edition: April 1-15, 2004 Published by the Communist Ghadar Party of India |
| TABLE OF CONTENTS |
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Millions demonstrate on anniversary of US led invasion of Iraq March
20, 2004 was observed throughout the world as a Global Day of Action.
Millions of people demonstrated throughout the world on March 19 –
20, 2004, to show their solidarity with the heroic Iraqi people fighting
valiantly against the occupation of their land. Tens
of thousands of Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad on March 19, shouting
“We will sacrifice for you Iraq, with our blood and soul.” They carried
banners that read “No, no to occupation, no, no to dictatorship and
yes, yes to unity”. They thus demonstrated not only their determination
to rid their country of the hated occupation forces, but also denounced
the attempts of the imperialists to split their unity along communal
lines. Demonstrations were also held in other cities and towns of
Iraq. The
Global Day of Action began with protests in Australia and New Zealand.
Over three thousand people participated in a rally through the streets
of Sydney. They carried an effigy of Prime Minister John Howard in
a cage, representing Australians detained by the US in the concentration
camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, above a banner labelling him a war criminal.
Another large demonstration was held in Melbourne, while protests
were also held in Canberra, Brisbane, Perth and Hobart. They called
for the withdrawal of the 2,000 Australian troops serving in Iraq,
who were deployed despite huge public opposition. In New Zealand,
hundreds of people took part in demonstrations in the cities of Wellington,
Auckland and Christchurch. Over
1,20,000 people took part in demonstrations across Japan on March
20 in protest at the continued US-led occupation of Iraq. They called
for the immediate withdrawal of the 1,000 troops from Japan deployed
in Iraq in complete violation of the will of the Japanese people.
In Tokyo, two rallies were held with about 30,000 people participating
in each. Rallies were also held in Osaka, Okinawa, Sapporo and other
cities. Thousands of people took part in demonstrations in Seoul,
Korea, against the US occupation of Iraq. In Manila, Philippines,
police used water cannons to disperse a group of demonstrators who
tried to march on the US embassy in protest against the war. Many
other actions were held in the Philippines, protesting against the
support given by the government of Gloria Arroyo to the occupation
of Iraq. About
two thousand people gathered in Cairo’s Tahreer Square carrying banners
reading “No WMD, but 20 000 Iraqi civilians killed-—this is Bush’s
democracy”. They shouted slogans demanding that the imperialist chieftain
Bush be put on trial for the crimes against the people. Protests were
held in the southern Egyptian city of Minya, denouncing the occupation
of Iraq and the ban on wearing the Muslim veil in schools in France.
Rallies also took place in Jordan, Bahrain and several other cities
in the region. One
of the biggest actions was held in Rome, with a spirited march through
the city that ended at the Circus Maximus Park. Participants demanded
that the 3,000 Italian troops in Iraq be withdrawn immediately. It
is estimated that over 300,000 demonstrators participated in the protests
in Italy. An estimated 1,50,000 people demonstrated in Barcelona,
Spain, while thousands participated in a protest rally in Madrid which
denounced both the Iraq war and the March 11, 2004 rail bombings in
the city. The rally featured a large banner with a black sash as symbol
of mourning which read: “End the occupation. Bring the troops home.”
Thousands of people took part in demonstrations in Berlin, Hamburg,
Frankfurt and other cities in Germany, including one in front of the
US air base in Ramstein. About 10,000 people marched from the Bastille
Square to the Chatelet Square in Paris, France, denouncing the occupation
of Iraq as also violence and terrorist attacks against the people.
Thousands of people took part in demonstrations in Amsterdam, Holland,
another country whose government has supported the US–led coalition
occupying Iraq. More than 10,000 people marched to the U.S. Embassy
in Athens, Greece, protesting the war against Iraq and the Greek government’s
plans to have NATO assist in the security of the Olympics to be held
there in August this year. In
London, over 100,000 people marched through the centre of the city.
People carried signs calling U.S. President George W. Bush the “World’s
No. 1 Terrorist” and condemning the Blair government for its participation
in the aggression against Iraq. They shouted slogans such as “Anti-Bush!
Anti-Blair! Anti-war, everywhere!” as they headed to Trafalgar Square
via Picadilly for an afternoon rally. Rallies also took place in Iceland,
Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway,
Sweden, Finland, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Turkey. In the Hungarian
capital, Budapest, demonstrators holding blazing torches formed a
human peace sign in the city’s Heroes’ Square and called for Hungarian
troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. Similarly, hundreds of people took
part in a march in Kiev, Ukraine, holding banners proclaiming, “Stop
the war and end the occupation of Iraq!” “Ukrainian soldiers, come
back from the shameful war!” and “Peace in the Middle East.” A march
was held in the city of Mostar, in Bosnia, in support of the people
of Iraq, for peace in Kosovo and Serbia, peace in Afghanistan and
in support of Spain’s Madrid citizens as well as the people of Haiti.
A rally was held in Zagreb, Croatia, to protest against the sending
of Croatian troops to Iraq. Thousands
of people took part in protest actions throughout Latin America. Those
who took part also focused upon the increased interference and provocations
in Latin America and the Caribbean and expressed support for Cuba
and Venezuela. Over ten thousand people participated in actions in
Cuba. There were powerful protests in Santiago, Chile, and in Sao
Paulo, Brazil. Actions also took place in Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela
and Puerto Rico. In Johannesburg, South Africa, over a thousand people
staged a march demanding an end to the US–led occupation of Iraq.
In
the US itself, some 250 actions were organised across the country
with the largest actions in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San
Francisco. About a hundred thousand people are estimated to have participated
in the rally and two – hour long march through the centre of New York.
They carried placards reading “Bush Lied: Thousands Died!”, “Occupation
in Iraq Wrong” “Stop Madcowboy Disease,” and “Not One More Delay,
Not One More Death, Not One More Deception”. In Chicago, tens of thousands
of people marched through the city. It is reported that over fifty
thousand people participated in the actions in San Francisco. Actions
were also held in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Charlotte,
Atlanta, Cincinnati, Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle,
Washington and hundreds of other locations. Family members of US troops
killed in Iraq and presently stationed there participated in these
actions in large numbers. Several protests were organised throughout
Canada as well. Besides opposing the illegal invasion and continued
occupation of Iraq, the protests also opposed the occupation of Palestine
and the recent US–led coup in Haiti and the role of the Canadian government
in it. These militant actions throughout the length and breadth of the planet, and particularly in those countries whose governments have supported the US – led invasion and occupation of Iraq have reaffirmed the determination of the peoples of the world to end the dastardly occupation. They show that the Anglo–American imperialists, who launched the war last year are not only thoroughly isolated, but will have to reckon with the wrath of the peoples of the rest of the world as they set about their infamous “nation building” exercise in Iraq. |
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Cause and Solution to the Unemployment Problem It
is common to find thousands or even lakhs of applicants for every
job vacancy in India, whether in government or in the private sector. Violent clashes are not uncommon in the scramble
for the limited job opportunities.
It has become an indisputable fact that unemployment is one
of the biggest problems being faced by the youth of our country. An
estimated 35 million people in India are recorded as officially unemployed,
which excludes many who are not registered in the employment exchanges.
There are 212 million young people (aged 14-24), but only 107
million of them are employed. Another
20 million young people will enter the labour force in the next four
years. The 10th Five-Year Plan document has signaled that under the
current circumstances, the economy will not be able to provide jobs
for new entrants or clear the backlog. Since
November 2003, the bourgeoisie has been trumpeting that the Indian
economy is growing more rapidly than ever before.
However, the number of new jobs being created is barely adequate
to make up for the number of old jobs being destroyed, raising concerns
about ‘jobless growth’. Between 1997 and 2002, an estimated 8,80,000
jobs have been destroyed in the organised public and private sectors,
in the name of downsizing for meeting the efficiency challenges of
market competition. The
bourgeoisie is conscious of the impact of this ‘jobless growth’.
Those who face ‘downsizing’ as well as the youth who have freshly
entered the job market are all agitated about the lack of job opportunities. It is to placate this growing anger and restlessness
that every party is promising jobs to the youth, on the eve of the
Lok Sabha elections. The
BJP blames the Congress Party for not having created enough employment
during the 50 years of its rule. “Vote Atal” and you will get jobs, is their
election cry! The Congress Party, on the other hand, has announced
that enacting an Employment Guarantee Act will be one of its major
election promises. Regional
bourgeois parties are also making similar promises.
For example, the DMK in Tamilnadu has promised to create two
million jobs for educated youth and women. If
providing employment depended only on the good intentions of the party
in power, then why was this not done earlier?
None of the parties contending for power provides any answer
to this question. They are promising to solve the problem of
unemployment, without identifying what really is the root cause of
this disease. Root cause Textbooks
of bourgeois economics admit that there is no scope for “full employment”
in the modern capitalist economy.
However, they hide the real reason.
They hide the truth that it is not the absolute
number of workers who are “too many”; they are too many only in relation
to the needs of capital. By hiding this truth, bourgeois economists
blame population growth for the problem of unemployment. If this were
true, there should be no unemployment in Europe or North America.
However, facts show that unemployment is a growing problem
in all the capitalist countries, including those where the population
has stabilized and is no longer growing in size. Interaction
of human labour with nature is the source of wealth in society. A shirt, for instance, is the product of labour acting on cloth,
which in turn is the product of labour acting on thread, and so on. Under the capitalist system, the material means
of production — raw materials as well as the tools of production —
are the private property of capitalists.
As a result, the employment of labour depends on the drive
of the capitalists to expand their private wealth. The
capitalist buys labour power with a view to augment his capital. The
value created by labour in the production of commodities is more than
what the capitalist pays as wages to purchase the labour power. The
difference is the surplus value that is pocketed by the capitalist.
And the production of surplus value is the absolute law of
this mode of production. It
is the surplus value, generated through the exploitation of labour,
which allows the capitalist to increase his capital, and to once again
employ labour to work on that augmented capital. Labour power is only
saleable so far as it can yield a surplus value for some capitalist.
When
the capitalist sees favourable prospects for reaping a high rate of
profit in any sphere of production, he seeks to invest additional
capital in that sphere, generating demand for additional labour.
When he does not perceive such a prospect, he hangs on to his
capital and waits for the opportune time to invest.
The demand for labour power is determined by the drive of the
capitalist class as a whole to accumulate their capital, and the composition
of the total social capital. The
composition of capital refers to the relative proportions that are
advanced to purchase material inputs, and to purchase labour power.
As the productivity of labour increases, with the application
of science and technology, the quantity of raw material that is converted
into finished products in every man-hour increases.
The tools and machinery used in the production process also
grows more complex. As a result,
the proportion of capital that goes to purchase labour power (called
variable capital) diminishes, in relation to the capital advanced
to purchase the material means of production (called constant capital). Suppose
the investment of every 100 rupees consists of 50 rupees spent on
purchasing the means of production and 50 rupees as wages of labour.
As productivity of labour rises over time, the above ratio
changes – from 50:50 to 60:40, to 70:30 and so on.
In other words, the demand for labour rises with the accumulation
of capital, but by a smaller amount per unit expansion in capital.
In
capitalist economies, production goes through alternating periods
of expansion and contraction, in the form of a cyclical motion.
In the expansion phase, capitalists must have hands ready to
be put to work. In the contraction phase, they must be able
to shed the ‘excess’ labour. In short, capitalism requires, for its
free play, a reserve army of the unemployed, to make use of when needed
and to put away when not needed.
The laws of capitalist accumulation leads to the creation of
this reserve army, which in turn facilitates the further accumulation
of capital. Today,
capitalism has reached its final stage of imperialism.
The productive powers of labour have increased to such an extent,
that the ratio of variable to constant capital has declined to a very
low level. At the same time, the destructive powers of
capital and of the imperialist powers have increased to a very high
degree. As a result, the growth
in employment, relative to the expansion of capital, has become almost
zero, leading to the phenomenon of “jobless growth” in all the capitalist
countries. Thus,
in the capitalist system, the continuous increase in the productivity
of labour does not lead to the liberation of the workers from long
hours of toil. It does not provide workers with greater hours of leisure and allow
for their further material and cultural development. On the contrary, increase in the productivity
of labour only enslaves the labourers further to capital. It leads to the intensification of exploitation
of the employed work force, on the one hand, and an expanding army
of unemployed on the other hand.
In the words of Marx, “The condemnation of one part of the
working class to enforced idleness by the over-work of the other part,
and the converse, becomes a means of enriching the individual capitalists”. Solution The
lasting solution to the problem of unemployment lies in putting an
end to the exploitative capitalist system and replacing it with the
socialist system. Socialism
is a system of economy where the means of production are no longer
the private property of capitalists, but the common property of society
as a whole or the collective property of groups (of peasants) within
society. Under socialism production is oriented to the satisfaction of the
material and cultural needs of all the toilers and tillers. The surplus generated in a socialist economy
will be reinvested in tune with society’s needs, according to a single
overall plan. It will be reinvested
to ensure uninterrupted and extended reproduction, without crises
or periodic ups and downs. In
the socialist system, an army of unemployed surplus labour force will
be a social waste. The labour force, the most precious productive
force, the source of value and its increment in the economy, will
be nurtured for the benefit of the toilers and for the progress of
society. Increase in the productivity
of labour will become the means for raising the standard of living
of the labourers, including the quantity and quality of their leisure
time. Today,
if the Indian economy were reoriented towards fulfilling the material
needs of the entire population, there would be a great need to invest
more in education, health, housing, etc. The demand for labour will
rise rapidly. All able-bodied
adults would not only be able to find employment, but would be required
to work. Employment would
actually become a right and a matter of duty as well. With
the aim of reorienting the Indian economy, and of replacing capitalism
by socialism, the working people and youth need to step up their immediate
struggle for the right to work. When
production has become a highly socialised process, it is not possible
for an individual to secure his or her livelihood by his or her own
efforts. It is the obligation
of society to ensure that every able-bodied adult is employed.
It is the duty of the State and the right of every individual. Youth have every right to demand jobs for all, as an inalienable right in modern society. The struggle for this right must be waged without compromise, with the knowledge that this right will be actualised only through the reorientation of the economy – its transition from capitalism to socialism through the revolution. |
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Demonstrations and meetings in Delhi mark the anniversary of the aggression on Iraq Anti
imperialist and peace loving forces in India joined the world wide
protests of anti-imperialist and peace loving forces that took place
on March 20, 2004. A year ago, on this very day, US imperialism and
its allies, in complete contempt of international law as well as the
will of the world’s peoples, had launched the war of occupation of
Iraq. In
Delhi, there were rallies of anti-imperialist forces and peace activists
during the day. Over two hundred anti-war protestors, organised under
the banner of “20th March Committee Against Imperialist occupation
of Iraq”, gathered in the Ramlila grounds to March to the American
Center. This Committee had been formed at the conclusion of MR-2004
in Mumbai in January. The Delhi police arrested these demonstrators. Meanwhile,
over 1500 anti-imperialist and anti-war protestors marched under the
banner of “Citizens against War and Occupation” from Mandi House to
the American Center. The protestors demanded an immediate end to the
occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. They declared that
any constitution or government set up by the occupation forces would
be acceptable and the Iraqi people must have the right to decide their
own economic and political system. The protestors demanded the setting
up of an independent war crimes tribunal for Iraq. They declared there
firm opposition to military collaboration by India with the US and
Israel. On
the evening of March 20, 2004, Lok Raj Sangathan organised a public
meeting in Delhi, to mark one year of the US imperialist led aggression
and continued occupation of Iraq. The theme of the meeting was the
burning question that is facing all freedom-loving and progressive
forces today, i.e., “What must the peoples do to defeat the imperialist
aggressors?” More than hundred workers, women, working class youth,
intellectuals, journalists, political and social activists representing
various organisations and movements, as well as activists of Lok Raj
Sangathan participated in the meeting. Among those who participated
in the meeting were TN Saibaba from the All India People’s Resistance
Forum, and representatives of RESPECT—an anti-war coalition in Britain,
and the Association of Indian Progressive Study Groups (AIPSG) from
the US. A representative of the Communist Ghadar Party of India also
addressed the gathering. The
Convenor of Lok Raj Sangathan highlighted the massive world-wide opposition
to the aggression and occupation of Iraq and the dastardly role of
the Indian state in attacking the hundreds of demonstrators who had
gathered earlier in the day, to register their protest against the
imperialist occupation of Iraq. The Chairperson initiated the discussion
on the vital question of how to stay the hands of the imperialist
aggressors. The inviolable right of sovereignty of nations and the
right of nations and peoples to determine for themselves what kind
of economic and political system they wish to have, were some of the
issues which, he hoped, would be raised in the presentations by the
various speakers. Speaking
on the occasion, the representative of the Communist Ghadar Party
of India pointed out that despite the growing struggle of the anti-imperialist
and anti-war forces throughout the world, the US and its allies continue
to pursue their aggressive and criminal course. Despite setbacks,
they continue to carry out “nation building” exercises in Afghanistan,
Iraq and now in Haiti and they continue to threaten various other
countries with military intervention all the time. Following
the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the bipolar division
of the world, in 1991, the US and other imperialist powers signed
the ‘Charter of Paris for a new Europe’, which declared that it was
the right of the imperialists, led by the United States, to decide
what kind of economy and political system each people and nation should
have. In other words, the right of sovereignty of nations and peoples
would henceforth be flagrantly violated, particularly in the case
of states that the imperialists chose to declare “rogue states” or
“failed states”. The
speaker pointed out that the slogan of “war against terrorism” that
the imperialists are advancing, is an attempt to justify their continuing
war to recolonise and redivide the world, through monopoly control
over markets, zones for the export of capital, sources of cheap labour,
raw materials and energy sources. US imperialism wishes to establish
its domination over Asia and use it as the springboard to dominate
the rest of the world. Other imperialist powers are colluding and
contending with the US, to advance their own imperialist aims. Today
it is clear for all to see that behind the slogan of “war against
terrorism” lies the insatiable greed of the most warmongering sections
of the bourgeoisie worldwide, the greed for maximum profits of the
biggest multinationals. “War against terrorism” is also being used
to crush the mounting anti-imperialist resistance movement of the
world’s peoples. A
massive campaign of lies is being carried out by the imperialists
to make out as if ancient nations, with a proud history of fighting
for their independence and sovereignty, are incapable of determining
what kind of system of governance they should have. Today we see occupation
forces writing constitutions and installing regimes, i.e. new political
arrangements for their national enslavement. It is being made out
that the system that the imperialists wish to impose is the last word
in democracy and civilisation. But what kind of democracy are they
talking about, asked the speaker, when these same powers can kill
thousands of innocents and wreak havoc upon a nation and people, in
utter disregard of the will of tens of thousands of their own citizens
who have come out on to the streets in protest? The
crucial question facing the anti imperialist freedom loving and peace
loving forces of the world today is — what must be done to stop the
aggressors from advancing on this devastating course? The UN has shown
itself utterly incapable of preventing the sovereignty of nations
from being crushed underfoot by the imperialist marauders. The reactionary
rulers in many of the countries, including India, have shown their
willingness to collaborate with the imperialist aggressors, for their
own ends. It is only the movement of the peoples in each country and
all over the world that can stay the hands of the imperialist aggressors.
The
anti-war movement must become a powerful united anti-imperialist movement,
in each country and on the world scale. In each country of the world,
including in India, the need is for a united movement against the
capitalist imperialist offensive. The
anti-imperialist movement must firmly uphold the right of each people
to determine their own economic and political system. We must be irreconcilably
opposed to the imperialists imposing “regime change” under any pretext. The
speaker from the CGPI declared that it is the victory of the anti-imperialist
and anti-capitalist revolution in one or more countries that will
turn the tide against the imperialist system on the world scale. As
the anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist movement develops in each
country, the imperialist chain is bound to break in one or more countries.
The anti-imperialist forces have to concentrate on strengthening their
unity in action, in each country and on the world scale, around the
common aim of defeating the imperialist offensive. Communists in each
country have the urgent task and responsibility of organising the
working class and people around the program of revolution and socialism.
They must expose and oppose all attempts to reconcile the anti-imperialist
movement with capitalism and imperialism, on any question and under
any pretext. Today,
the US and other imperialists have lost all credibility in the eyes
of the world’s people. The Iraqi people continue to fiercely resist
the designs of the occupation forces and inflict heavy casualties
on them. The fighting peoples must step up their struggle to rip apart
any new attempts to legitimise the imperialist occupation. They must
demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the occupation
forces and severe punishment of the guilty. In
conclusion, the speaker of the CGPI gave a clarion call to the anti-imperialist
forces to strengthen their political unity and step up their struggle,
with the aim of eliminating imperialism from the face of the earth.
This alone can ensure lasting peace and prosperity for all the nations
and peoples of the world. The
necessity to democratise the United Nations in order to ensure that
the will of the majority of nations prevailed and was not violated
by any country was dwelt on by some of the speakers. Another issue
that was emphasised was that the anti-imperialist movement must firmly
uphold the right to self determination of all peoples and must not
accept concepts like “limited sovereignty”, “pre-emptive strikes”,
“regime changes”, and so on under any guise including the guise of
defending “human rights”. It was pointed out that right of the people
to self determination, was a human right and trampling of this right
under the pretext of “upholding human rights” was completely unacceptable.
The importance of defending the resistance struggle of the Iraqi nation was emphasised by another speaker. Several other speakers emphasised the need for the anti imperialist movement to fight uncompromisingly against the capitalist regimes which were colluding with the imperialist aggressors for advancing their own interests and turning their people into cannon fodder for the imperialist warmongers, in open violation of the will of their own people. The role of the Indian bourgeoisie came in for sharp criticism in the discussions. |
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Militant protests in Mumbai against US occupation of Iraq Over
five hundred persons under the banner of Forum Against War and Terrorism
(FAWT) held angry protests at Hutatma Chowk in Mumbai on March 20,
2004 demanding that America should leave Iraq immediately. The State
Government had clamped a ban on the assembly of persons in the Hutatma
Chowk area and had refused permission to holding of demonstrations
there. The FAWT however defied the ban and held the demonstrations
there. The demonstrators shouted slogans, like “Murderer Bush, quit
Iraq”, “Down with US Imperialism”, “Iraq for Iraqi people”. The
FAWT had succeeded in bringing under one platform numerous organisations.
A.D. Golandaz, one of the main organisers of FAWT, summed up the mood
of the anti-imperialist forces thus “It was heartening that those
who participated in World social Forum and in Mumbai Resistance, separately,
almost like sworn rivals only two months back, came together shoulder
to shoulder to stage the above demonstrations, proving thereby that
real concerns for issues can, not only bring the people together but
also can bind them together for struggles, regardless of their respective
temporary or permanent affiliations.” The protestors refused to be cowed down by fierce police attacks,
which finally resulted n the arrest of all the protestors. Many men
and women were injured in the police action. The arrested men and
women were taken to Phalton Road police station and were detained
there for two-and-a-half hours. There was an impromptu cultural programme
of spirited songs along with music and slogan shouting, right in the
middle of large compound of Phalton Road Police Station, with two
brief speeches, which exhorted the people to continue the campaign
against America till it leaves Iraq. Those
participating in the March 20 action included activists and leaders
of CPI, CPM, Samajwadi Party, Lok Raj Sangathan, Kamgar Aghadi, AITUC,
CITU, Sarva Shramik Sangh, State Government Employees Federation,
Bank Employees Federation of India, Bombay University and College
Teachers Union, TUCI, TUSC, IFTU, UTUC, M.S.E.B.Workers Federation,
NRMU, “Insaniyat”, Focus on Global South, Women Center, Awaz-e-Niswan,
AIPRF, Nepali Jan Adhikar Suraksha Samiti, CPDR, Muslim Youth of India,
Vidrohi Sansakritik Chalwal, Muslim Intellectuals Forum, NAPM, BSES
Contract Workers Sangharsha Manch, Thekedari Pratha Virodhi Manch
and several other organizations. The FAWT which was constituted last year, had taken out a procession on Amerian Consulate in Mumbai in March last year protesting against the US aggression on Iraq, followed by a huge rally of over 40,000 people held on April 4 2003 at Azad Maidan, Mumbai. FAWT has resolved to continue the struggle. |
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On the debate over the size of the fiscal deficit One
camp of the bourgeoisie, including the economists of the IMF and the
World Bank, argues that the fiscal deficit is too high in India and
must be brought down immediately, by cutting back on various components
of government expenditure. Another
camp of the bourgeoisie argues that the fiscal deficit is not too
high and that in order to keep the economy and employment growing,
the government needs to spend more without worrying about the size
of the deficit. While they argue with each other about the size of the deficit,
neither side questions the merits of an economic system and state
policy that is based on piling debt on the backs of the entire people,
year after year. They do not
contest the wisdom of accumulating national debt so as to fulfill
the greed of finance capital and pursue the militarist and imperial
vision of the big bourgeois class. Communists
must not take sides in the bourgeois debate over the size of fiscal
deficit. They must educate
and organise workers to demand that the State should increase its
spending in the interests of the wellbeing of the masses, without
becoming more and more indebted. They must call for a moratorium on
debt service payments to the money lending institutions, cut back
on unproductive spending on the armed forces and the raising of additional
resources from the rich exploiters, such measures such as through
immediate confiscation of all unaccounted wealth and black money in
the economy. The
fiscal deficit is the excess of total government expenditure over
the revenues it collects, by way of taxes and non-tax levies.
This deficit is financed every year by fresh government borrowing
from the banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions,
Indian and international. It is also partly financed by the proceeds
from privatisation and through inflationary money creation. Over
the last 17 years, the combined fiscal deficit of the central and
state governments in India has increased from 9% of GDP to 10.3%.
The level of spending on social services has remained stagnant
at around 5.5%, while capital expenditure or investments in productive
assets has declined from 6.4% to 3.5% of GDP.
The fiscal deficit has been rising mainly because interest
payments have gone up steeply, from 3.8% of GDP to 6.6%.
It has also been rising due to the growing expenditure on the
armed forces and the bureaucracy. As
a result of financing large and rising deficits, the public debt accumulated
by the central and state governments has grown and continues to grow
very rapidly, year after year. The burden of servicing this debt is a public
liability. It is a growing
burden on the entire people of India, including both the present and
future generations. As on 31st March, 2004, the accumulated government debt is estimated
at around Rs. 22,00,000 crore. This
works out to Rs. 22,000 per person, or roughly one lakh per Indian
family. The
financial policy of the Indian State has all along been a policy based
on borrowing money from Indian and foreign financiers every year,
and paying them huge handouts in the form of interest on public debt.
As a result, the domination of finance capital over the Indian
economy and State has increased tremendously over the years.
The
Indian State intervenes in the economy in the interests of the monopoly
capitalists, while it collects revenues by taxing the entire people.
It becomes more and more indebted to money lending institutions,
not for the sake of investing in productive assets, but for the sake
of financing entirely unproductive expenditures, such as on the army
and the bureaucracy, and on servicing the debt already incurred. As
the State becomes more and more indebted to the money lending institutions,
the interest of finance capital becomes more and more dominant in
influencing government policy. For instance, in recent years when credit to
the private sector has been stagnant, lending to governments has been
the main method of maintaining the profitability of the money lending
institutions in India. The
policy of running high and rising fiscal deficits, at the centre and
in the states, has thus been directly in the service of the banks
and other financial institutions. Today,
the Indian bourgeoisie is actively pursuing an imperialist course,
so as to make India a “developed” country and a mighty military power
by 2020. It is keen to step
up spending on arms and armaments, on highways and other infrastructure
that is needed to attain big power status. Such spending is also a source of lucrative
contracts and super-profits for various monopoly capitalist corporations.
This is the reason that various bourgeois politicians and economists
within India are arguing that government spending must be stepped
up, no matter what happens to the deficit. On
the other hand, the economists of the IMF and the World Bank preach
that the fiscal deficit must be brought down because of their concern
about maintaining the profitability of the international financial
system. They want the Indian
State to continue being a big and ‘creditworthy’ borrower in the international
market. They do not want the
size of the deficit and debt of the Indian State to be so high that
it becomes a financial risk to lend further monies to it. In
the name of opposing the positions of the IMF and the World Bank,
and in the name of “shedding dogmatic positions and adopting a pragmatic
approach”, some parties within the Indian communist movement have
started prettifying the fiscal deficit regime being pursued by the
Indian bourgeoisie. Arguing
that running high fiscal deficits is to be preferred to a slowing
down in capitalist economic growth, they are taking sides in the bourgeois
debate on the size of the fiscal deficit. Far from advancing the independent aims of the working class, they
are acting as cheer leaders of the Indian bourgeoisie in pursuing
its imperial vision. The
aim of the working class movement cannot be either to keep India ‘creditworthy’
in the eyes of foreign money lenders or to assist the Indian bourgeoisie
to pursue its imperialist aims. The
aim of the working class movement must not be to save capitalism from
its crisis, but to dig its grave and reorient the economy to fulfill
the needs of the toiling masses. Hence communists must not take sides in the
bourgeois debate over the size of the fiscal deficit. Communists must lead the working class to uncompromisingly oppose the accumulation of public debt to fulfill the greed and ambitions of the big bourgeoisie. They must educate and organise workers to demand that the State should increase its spending in the interests of the wellbeing of the masses, without becoming more and more indebted. They must agitate for measures such as (i) declaring a moratorium (temporary halt, until further notice) on payments of principal and interest to the money lending institutions; (ii) cutting back on unproductive spending such as on the armed forces; and (iii) raising additional resources from the rich exploiters, such as through immediate confiscation of all unaccounted wealth and black money in the economy. |
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“This
accelerated relative diminution of the variable constituent, that
goes along with the accelerated increase of the total capital … takes
the inverse form, at the other pole, of an apparently absolute increase
of the labouring population … in fact, it is capitalist accumulation
itself that constantly produces, and produces in the direct ratio
of its own energy and extent, a relatively redundant population of
labourers, i.e., a population of greater extent than suffices for
the average needs of the self-expansion of capital, and therefore
a surplus population … “But
if a surplus population is a necessary product of accumulation or
of the development of wealth on a capitalist basis, this surplus-population
becomes, conversely, the lever of capitalistic accumulation, nay,
a condition of existence of the capitalist mode of production.
It forms a disposable industrial reserve army, that belongs
to capital quite as absolutely as if the latter had bred it at its
own cost. Independently of
the limits of the actual increase of population, it creates, for the
changing needs of the self-expansion of capital, a mass of human material
always ready for exploitation.” (Capital, Volume I; Chapter XXV on the General Law of Capitalist Accumulation, p. 591-592) |
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Condemn the assassination of Sheik Yassin by the US – imperialist
backed Israeli state! People’s
Voice condemns, with anger, the cold–blooded assassination of Sheik
Ahmed Yassin, a spiritual leader of the patriotic Palestinian people,
by the Israeli government forces, on March 22, 2004. This killing
has been condemned by people and governments all over the world, while
the Palestinian people have come out onto the streets in their thousands,
vowing to redouble their efforts to free themselves of the clutches
of Zionism and imperialism. The
valiant Palestinian people have been waging heroic struggle for decades
to win back their land and freedom. The state of Israel was itself
created by forcibly displacing the Palestinian people and dispossessing
them of their land, which had been theirs for centuries. From the
very creation of the state of Israel, to the daily attacks and killings
that the Palestinian people have faced and continue to face today,
it is the Anglo – American imperialists who have backed the Israeli
state. This is why the Palestinian people have been forced to wage
a long struggle – to get back their land, for their national rights
and freedom. It is this just and heroic struggle, which has taken
many forms over the years, which has been depicted as “terrorism”
by the Israeli state and its imperialists backers. The valiant Palestinian
people have used all available means to defend themselves and advance
their struggle for dignity and national rights. While the Israeli
government has sought to justify the assassination by claiming that
Sheik Yassin and the patriotic people of Palestine are a threat to
Israel’s security, the fact is that it is the Israeli state which
is itself the most serious threat to peace and security in the region.
It has acted as a gendarme of the US imperialists, attacking the people
with mortars and rockets, bullets and bombs. It is the Israeli state
which has plotted and executed several schemes against the Palestinian
and other people of the region. For
the past 36 years, Israel has forcibly occupied the West Bank and
Gaza Strip areas. Under Israeli military authority the Palestinian
population has endured the violence of war, displacement, hunger,
humiliation, as well as ghettoization and imprisonment. The state
of Israel has refused to act upon numerous resolutions of the United
Nations as well as other international agencies to curtail its acts
of belligerence. Thus it is the Israeli state and its imperialist
backers, principally US imperialism, which have violated and continue
to violate international law. It is they who have thrown all regard
for justice to the winds and act as the most hardened state terrorists.
However, in the manner typical of fascists, they have tried to portray
the brave Palestinian people as terrorists in order to justify more
acts of repression and state terror on their own part. Peoples
and governments all over the world have condemned the cowardly and
dastardly rocket attack killing Sheik Yassin. With Hitlerite arrogance,
the Prime Minister and other officials of Israel have not only tried
to justify the assassination of Sheik Yassin, but also threatened
to kill more Palestinian patriots. This has brought home to the people
of the world the truth that there can be no compromise between the
freedom– loving peoples and the forces of the US imperialist backed
Israeli state. An overwhelming majority even in the Security Council
of the United Nations supported a resolution condemning the killing
of Sheik Yassin. However, the US imperialists have once again supported
the Israeli state by vetoing this resolution. It
is with this state of Israel, beefed up by military might of the US,
British and other imperialists, this despicable and dangerous power,
that the Indian state has been allying itself in recent years. Top
officials of the Indian government have been actively working for
closer defence ties with Israel and today, the military and intelligence
apparatuses of India and Israel are closely allied. The Indian people
condemn the assassination of Sheik Yassin by the Israeli state and
all the attacks on the Palestinian people, and demand that our government
immediately snaps its ties with the military and intelligence apparatus
of the Israeli state. The
brave Palestinian people have endured numerous hardships over the
years but have never lost their fighting spirit. They enjoy the unstinted
support of the freedom-loving people all over the world in their struggle
for their national rights. Far from intimidating them, this most recent
attack on them by the Israeli state has only served to strengthen
the resolve of the Palestinian people to continue their struggle till
they are victorious. Condemn
the assassination of Sheik Yassin! Down with Anglo-American imperialism and the Israeli state! |
World-wide anger against assassination of Sheik Yassin Hundreds
of thousands of Palestinians thronged the streets of Gaza City for
the funeral procession of Sheik Yassin who was assassinated by the
Zionists in a cowardly missile attack on March 22, 2004. They shouted
slogans like “death to Israel” and “death to America”. Thousands of
people also took to the streets in other places of the West Bank and
Gaza, as they protested against the assassination and vowed to fight
for the victory of the Palestinian cause. They clashed valiantly with
the Israeli soldiers, as a result of which several people were injured
and a few even killed. Freedom–loving
people all over the world have condemned the assassination. The assassination
has drawn widespread condemnation from Arab and other governments.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also condemned the attack, saying
it was against international law and did nothing to further the Middle
East peace process. European Union leaders have condemned Israel’s
assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin as a violation of international
law at the Brussels summit on March 26, 2004. The US has used its veto power to strike down a resolution in the UN Security Council against the assassination. The government of India has also not yet spoken out against this dastardly act. While the Israeli government has sought to justify the assassination by claiming that Sheik Yassin and the patriotic people of Palestine are “terrorists” and a threat to Israel’s security, the people all over the world can clearly see that it is the Israeli state which has acted as a terrorist and is the most serious threat to peace and security in the region. |
Carribbean countries oppose US led coup d’etat in Haiti Towards
the end of February 2004, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti
was forced to leave his country by US troops. For a few months prior
to this, Haiti was the victim of utter lawlessness perpetrated by armed
gangs allied with the forces of the former dictator Duvalier, who went
about destroying the property of the people. These goons, armed by the
CIA and other imperialist agencies of subterfuge, went about destroying
the property of the people of Haiti and killing people in a bid to create
conditions favourable for imperialist intervention. The intervention
by forces of the US, France and Canada has been approved by the Security
Council as one needed for “maintaining peace”. The
imperialists have claimed that Aristide was responsible for the violence
due to his failure to adhere to “democratic principles”, leading to
“deep polarization and violent unrest”. However, Aristide was removed
from power precisely because he did not remain silent about who was
funding the so-called opposition to him, namely powers such as the US.
This made him an “enemy of democracy” in their view, justifying his
removal in a coup d’etat. Similar arguments are being advanced against
all those who oppose imperialist interests, for example against President
Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. The
bloody and unwarranted intervention in Haiti has not been accepted by
the other peoples and governments in the region. The leaders of the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have protested against this intervention,
and declared the removal of President Aristide from office as “unconstitutional”.
Venezuela and Jamaica have refused to recognise the new Haitian government
headed by Mr Latortue, formed under imperialists supervision. Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez said: “We don’t recognise Haiti’s new government.
The president of Haiti is named Jean-Bertrand Aristide and he was elected
by his people.” The intervention in Haiti is part of the plan of the imperialists to prepare for intimidation and attacks on other countries in the region, such as Cuba, Venezuela and others, who are seen as obstacles in their path to strategic and economic dominance. The opposition of Venezuela, Jamaica and other countries of the region is a reflection of the growing anti-imperialist unity of the peoples of the region, in defence of freedom and sovereignty. |
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Foreign powers interfering in Nepal’s civil war On
March 21, hundreds of people were reported killed in one of the biggest
clashes between Nepali armed forces and insurgent forces led by the
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
This huge toll in a single engagement represents the intensification
of the conflict, which pits the insurgent movement, which has gained
rapid support and is currently active in 74 out of 75 of Nepal’s districts,
against Nepal’s reactionary monarchical regime and its armed forces,
backed by the US, UK and the Indian state. Ever
since the armed revolt in Nepal was launched in 1996, it has been spreading
rapidly in all the regions of Nepal.
This is because the people are fed up with the feudal rulers
who are exploiting them to the bone and sucking them dry.
Extreme poverty and unemployment prevails over most regions,
forcing a high proportion of Nepalis to go outside to seek their living
in any way they can. It has been estimated, on the basis of the
latest census, that one-quarter of all Nepali households are landless,
and this problem is aggravated by the high incidence of indebtedness
in the rural areas. The medieval
kamaiya system of bonded labour still prevails, kept alive and flourishing
because of the massive problem of debt among the people.
By all accounts, the inequalities between different classes of
society and regions of the country have been growing in recent years. The ruling circles in Nepal, known for their
ostentatious lifestyles, have no solution to these problems even though,
on account of the prolonged struggles of the people, the tyrannical
hereditary rulers, the Ranas, were overthrown in 1990, and the promise
of establishing democracy was held out before the people.
As it has turned out, this change has made little difference
to the actual conditions of life of the majority of people, which have
been going from bad to worse. Thus,
the authorities in Nepal have been unable to put down the revolt of
the people. Soon
after the September 11 attacks in New York, the US and its allies have
drawn this conflict, arising out of the internal conditions of Nepal,
into the ambit of their global “war against terrorism”.
In this case, because of the Indian state’s historical self-proclaimed
“interest” in Nepal, the US has up till now been content to let India
assume the role of chief foreign gendarme and backer of the drive against
the insurgency in Nepal. Shortly after September 2001, the Indian government
began to sing the tune that the insurgency in Nepal was “terrorist”,
and Home Minister Advani accused the Nepali insurgents of fomenting
trouble in India. In this period,
a ceasefire was actually in place since July 2001 on the initiative
of the then Nepali Prime Minister Deuba.
But shortly after India’s lead, the Nepali government also began
to call the movement “terrorist”, a state of emergency was declared
in November 2001, and the Royal Nepal Army and the paramilitary forces
took over the job of fighting the insurgency from the local police forces. Since
then, there has been a sharp increase in the number of casualties in
the civil war, involving mainly the civilian population.
Thousands have died, while the armed forces have been allowed
to kill, torture and rape at will.
Nepali as well as international human rights organisations have
condemned these abuses, but the armed forces are allowed to operate
with complete impunity. After
the state of emergency expired in August 2002, the Nepali Parliament
passed the Terrorist and Destructive Activities Act (obviously modelled
on India’s notorious TADA), which allows detention without charges for
60 days, and preventive detention for 90 days.
Hundreds of people are being picked up, tortured and killed for
being labelled sympathisers of the movement. The
Nepali government has sent delegations to India and the US, to finalise
the details of military assistance from these countries.
India has so far given military aid worth $35 million, including
arms and ammunition and helicopters.
It has also been training the officers of the Nepali army, and
giving training in counter-insurgency in its Counter-Insurgency and
Jungle Warfare School. In March 2002, the Indian Army chief Padmanabhan
toured some of the districts of Nepal. The Indian state has also gone
out of its way to arrest and extradite Nepali activists in UP and elsewhere
in India. The US Congress has
so far approved a package of $12 million in military aid, representing
a ten-fold increase from what was there earlier since, as a US government
spokesperson admitted, Nepal is “more in our eye than in many, many
years.” Britain has also approved
a military package worth about $10 million. All these moves have only sharpened the political crisis in Nepal. In May 2002, Nepal’s King Gyanendra dissolved Parliament and scheduled elections for November, only to indefinitely postpone the elections in October and to dismiss the Prime Minister and cabinet. In the present atmosphere of great intrigue and violence, in which all opinion which puts the regime in an unfavourable light is suppressed outright, it is the foreign powers that are gaining. They are increasing their direct interference in Nepal’s affairs and trying to stamp out the flames of people’s discontent with fire and sword. It is not at all unlikely that the US will assume a more direct role in the near future, and attempt to turn this small and proud country, which resisted all attempts at foreign domination over the centuries, into another Afghanistan or Iraq in the name of fighting “terrorism”, with dangerous consequences for the whole region. In this situation, all people who value freedom and independence should condemn the increasing foreign interference in the affairs of Nepal. They should demand an end to the military offensive against the people in Nepal, and the cessation of the brutal violation of their rights. The Indian working class and people who share close bonds with the Nepali people should be in the forefront of this campaign. |
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Citizens’ tribunal indicts US president of war crimes in Afghanistan A citizens’
tribunal announced in Tokyo recently that it had found U.S. President
George W. Bush guilty of war crimes for attacking civilians with indiscriminate
weapons and other arms during the U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan in
2001. The tribunal also issued recommendations for banning depleted
uranium shells and other weapons that could indiscriminately harm people,
compensating the victims in Afghanistan and reforming the United Nations
in light of its failure to stop the U.S-led operation there. The
tribunal participants spent two years examining Bush’s role as the top
commander in the war, making eight field trips to Afghanistan and holding
nearly 20 public hearings. “Bush said that military presence in Afghanistan
is self-defense,” said Robert Akroyd, a British lawyer who served as
one of the five judges. “But under international law,” he said, “a defendant
must pay great care to discriminate (between) legitimate objects and
civilians” in claiming that one’s act is self-defense, said Akroyd.
Bush failed to do so with the U.S. military’s use of “indiscriminate
weapons such as the Daisy Cutter (a huge conventional bomb), cluster
bombs and depleted uranium shells,” he said. Civilians and experts who
have supported the tribunal movement agreed to work for creation of
an international treaty that would prohibit the production, stockpile
and use of depleted uranium rounds, like the Ottawa process that succeeded
in 1997 in outlawing antipersonnel land mines. Organizers said the tribunal on Afghanistan was the latest attempt to try a head of state by the efforts of citizens. The history of citizens’ tribunals dates back to the 1960s, when the British philosopher Bertrand Russell and others tried to examine the acts of the U.S. government during the Vietnam War. |
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