People's Voice - Organ of CGPI August 1-15, 2005

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed a joint statement with President George Bush of the United States after meeting him in Washington on 18^th July. This joint statement recognises India as a “responsible state with advanced nuclear technology”. To gain this recognition, India has agreed to permit international inspection of its civilian nuclear facilities. Viewed along with the military agreement signed by the Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee a few weeks ago, it is clear that the Indian rulers are seriously pursuing the dangerous course of entering a strategic alliance with US imperialism.

Voices of protest have been raised loudly by a wide cross section of people and political parties in India against the agreements signed by the Manmohan Singh government with the United States. Scientists involved in nuclear research in the country have vehemently declared that what the Prime Minister has done is “totally against the national interest”.

The steps taken by the Manmohan Singh government in relation to the US do not have the approval of the Indian working class and people. Manmohan Singh did not engage the people of India or even the Parliament in informed discussion to arrive at the best course for India in its relations with the US and other countries of the world. The political leadership has acted in its typical anti-democratic style to advance the narrow interests of the big bourgeoisie, behind the backs of the Indian people.

The occasion of Manmohan Singh’s visit was used by the US imperialists to create mistrust between India and Pakistan, by creating the impression that the US is inclined to back India against Pakistan. The recognition of India as a “responsible state with advanced nuclear technology” was directed, among other things, at creating this impression. At the same time, the US administration is assuring Pakistan that its special relationship with the US will be preserved.

US imperialism is opposed to the efforts of India and Pakistan to come closer and cooperate with each other for the solution of outstanding problems. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pleased his US hosts by repeatedly linking Pakistan with terrorism in his speeches, thereby playing into the imperialist game of blocking the path to lasting peace in South Asia. The aim of the US imperialists is to keep India and Pakistan at loggerheads with each other, both under its leash, to serve its own strategic aims.

The Indo-US strategic alliance is being forged at a time when US imperialism is getting more and more discredited on the world scale and is getting isolated and finding it difficult to get support even from its traditional allies. It is an alliance which the Indian big bourgeoisie hopes will help in furthering its own imperialist aims of empire building.

The US imperialists want India to be part of an alliance that is directed against independent nations and peoples of Asia and towards encircling China. They do not want India to forge alliances with other Asian powers, and thereby reduce her dependence on the US. They want to prevent India, Pakistan and Iran collaborating to establish an oil pipeline for the mutual benefit of all the three economies. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh compromised India’s position on this question by telling reporters in the US that the idea of a pipeline from Iran through Pakistan to India was problematic.

US imperialism wants India to be part of the so-called Coalition of the Willing that is waging the ‘war against terrorism’. The real content of this so-called war against terrorism being led by the Anglo-American imperialists is being revealed very clearly today by the clamping down on civil liberties and escalation of state terror in these advanced capitalist democracies. The racist campaign, arbitrary arrests and gunning down of innocent people in cold blood in Britain, in the wake of the 7^th July London bombings, are the most recent example of how state terrorism and growing fascism are being justified in the name of combating individual acts of terror. It is not qualitatively different from the Indian experience with state terrorism in Kashmir, Punjab and the Northeast, directed against the struggles of different peoples for their national and social liberation.

People’s Voice calls upon all Indians of conscience to condemn and take action to halt the dangerous course being followed by the Government of India. We cannot and must not permit our rulers to forge this anti–people strategic alliance with US imperialism in our name. It is an alliance which not only threatens us, but also the peace and security of all the peoples in our neighbourhood. We must not allow our country to become embroiled in inter–imperialist conflicts for the re-division of Asia! We cannot and must not allow our rulers to barter away the sovereignty of our country in return for US promises to “help India become a major power in the world”.

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Down with the murderous, fascist attacks on the workers of Gurgaon by the Indian State!

Statement of the CC of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, July 26, 2005

With deep anger and outrage, the CC of the Communist Ghadar Party of India condemns the bestial attacks by the police on workers in Gurgaon on the 25^th of July 2005. Hundreds of workers have been grievously injured in this pre-planned massacre which has been compared with the Jallianwala massacre carried out by the British colonialists during their oppressive rule. In full view of the print and visual media, the forces of “law and order” brought in from all over Haryana state in a planned and premeditated fashion told the workers to assemble in a park next to the mini-secretariat which had only one small exit, under the pretext of arranging a meeting with state officials, and then launched themselves with lathis on unarmed and defenceless workers sitting in the park. According to reports, hundreds of workers have been arrested, and many workers are missing, feared killed in the police savagery.

What was the “crime” of the workers of the Honda Motorcycle and Scooter Company that the State unleashed its police forces to punish? It was the “crime” of daring to oppose the humiliating attacks of a multinational company bent on attacking their dignity and rights, including the right to organise themselves into a trade union. It was the “crime” of refusing to bow before the attacks, before the suspensions and dismissals and illegal lockouts that the management carried out to break the workers organisation. It was the “crime” of demanding that the State implement the existing labour laws which the Honda Management were openly flouting. For these “crimes”, the workers of Honda and other workers from Gurgaon have been murderously beaten and brutalised.

The brutal attack on the workers of Gurgaon, clearly tears through the lying propaganda that the State is a “neutral umpire” between the bourgeoisie and the working class. This Indian state is a state of the bourgeoisie which defends with fire and sword the interests of the biggest capitalist houses – Indian and foreign. It will do so over the dead bodies of countless men and women if needed – this is what July 25, 2005 once again starkly brings out.

The imperialist multinationals as well as the Indian big industrial houses have begun to now sing the song that the “image” of Gurgaon, Haryana and India as investment centres for foreign and Indian business houses has been “tarnished”. Already, the politicians of Congress, BJP and such like have begun to sing the same tune. What is this beautiful image that is being tarnished, and who is tarnishing it?

For over 15 years, the Indian big bourgeoisie and its political leadership, the Congress Party and BJP, as well as various other regional parties, have pursued a no holds barred policy of globalisation and liberalisation, to make India an attractive center for foreign companies. They have demanded and willing governments at the centre and the state have launched vicious attacks on all the rights of workers, including the right to organise themselves into trade unions. Even the extremely few safeguards that exist on paper for the organised workers are under attack. In many areas which are being touted as favourite spots for the foreign and Indian multinationals, as in Gurgaon in Haryana, and NOIDA in Uttar Pradesh, all labour laws are openly flouted. The Indian and foreign multinationals have been promised unrestricted plunder of the land, labour and resources of the people. And they have been promised that the Indian workers will be kept suppressed while they reap super profits. It is this image of India as a land which can be raped and plundered, and people who can be exploited at will that has been “tarnished” by the heroic struggle of the workers of Gurgaon.

This is what the forces of “law and order” set about righting on July 25, 2005. In the process, they have further deepened the crisis for the ruling class of India and the political parties of the ruling class.

Today, the entire working class and people of India are justifiably angered and outraged at the state bestiality on the heroic Gurgaon workers. Powerful actions are being organised daily in Gurgaon and all over India in defence of the workers. The Central Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India is of the firm opinion that all communists, all trade union activists, the entire working class and the people of the country must unite as one and demand the punishment of all those responsible for the Gurgaon massacre. The Honda management must be forced to take back all workers with full wages. We must demand Constitutional guarantee to the right to form a trade union and the implementation of such enforcing mechanisms that will severely punish anybody who violates it. We must frame, demand and fight for labour laws and for suitable mechanisms under the control of workers that will defend the rights of workers in all sectors-organised and unorganised-all over India. We must demand immediate dismantling of the overt and covert facilities provided by the Indian state for the super exploitation of labour in the so called Special Economic Zones and in the cities like Gurgaon and NOIDA.

In the coming days, there will be attempts to disrupt the united struggle of the working class by diverting the target of attack from the Central Government and the Indian big bourgeoisie’s anti-worker, anti-national policy of attacking the rights of workers in the name of making India attractive to Indian and foreign multinationals. We will be threatened that if we intensify the struggle, the capitalists will run away and we will lose our jobs and India’s “march to progress” will be retarded. The Communist Ghadar Party of India calls upon the workers to treat such propaganda with the contempt it deserves.

India belongs to its people – its hard working workers and peasants, women and youth. It does not belong to the Indian and foreign multinationals. Today the Indian state and the political parties of the big bourgeoisie like the Congress and BJP are serving the interests of these exploiters and plunderers. The Communist Ghadar Party of India calls upon all the communists and workers to fight the immediate battles for justice and rights with the clear perspective that we must prepare for transferring political power from where it is today – in the hands of the bourgeoisie – into the hands of those it rightfully belongs, the workers and peasants of our country.

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Brutal killing of innocent youth by London police reveals the racist and fascist course of Blair Government

Statement of the CC of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, July 25 , 2005

With utmost anger, the Central Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India condemns the killing of a young man in broad daylight by the London police and security agents on 22^nd July. In response to the public outrage expressed against the incident and eyewitness accounts that have been publicised over the internet, the Blair government has been forced to admit the fact that the murdered youth was innocent and had no links with any terrorist activity. The democratic and peace loving people of Britain are legitimately demanding that the Blair government immediately withdraw the fascist shoot-to-kill orders that empower armed police to murder anyone suspected of being a terrorist.

While admitting in words that the killing on 22^nd July was of an innocent youth, the Blair government has not put a stop to its racist and fascist campaign in the name of security. The armed forces continue to conduct house to house searches and arrest young persons on mere suspicion, targeting in particular those with brown skin colour and of Islamic faith. The Communist Ghadar Party of India calls on the working class and people of India to unite in defence of human rights and democratic rights in Britain, against the racist, communal and fascist offensive that has been launched by the Blair government in the name of combating terrorism.

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Condemn killing of innocent youth by security forces in Kashmir!

Statement of the CC of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, July 26 2005

With deep anger, the Central Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India condemns the brutal and cold-blooded gunning down of four young boys on the night of July 24 by the Rashtriya Rifles near Bagargund village in Kupwara district of Kashmir. The killing of young boys who were taking a stroll after attending a wedding ceremony once again reveals the naked and barbaric face of the Indian state towards the martyred people of Kashmir. It reveals the terrible farce of the “healing touch” allegedly being provided by the Central Government in Kashmir.

The enraged women and men of the area have naturally gone on the warpath fighting the heavily armed “security forces” with their bare hands and braving savage state repression. They are demanding immediate punishment of armed forces personnel responsible for the cold blooded murders as well as raising their voices against the armed occupation of Kashmir by the Indian armed forces.

The Indian Security forces have been forced to acknowledge that innocent children have been brutally gunned down. However, while expressing “regret” and offering “apologies” for this “mistake”, senior officials of the state administration and the security forces have sought to justify the act by saying that the area is “terrorist infested”, that the security forces “failed to identify the youth in the dark” and had to take “fast decisions”. They have stated that the security forces cannot be allowed to lower their vigilance at any cost! In other words, the clear message to an enraged and aggrieved public is that state terrorism will continue, even be intensified, and many more innocent people will die, but all this is justified in the name of fighting “terrorism”.

The UPA government as well as the parliamentary “opposition” are united on their anti-people, fascist, Kashmir policy which is based on military occupation of Kashmir by over six lakh armed forces to crush the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. As long as the military occupation of Kashmir continues, as long as the Kashmiri people are considered “terrorists” in their own villages and town, state and country, to be mercilessly raped, tortured and slaughtered at will by the “security forces”, as long as the political problems are turned into “law and order problems” to justify the mailed-fist approach, so long Kashmir will continue to bleed. The armed occupation of Kashmir must be immediately ended. Those guilty for the rape and murder of tens of thousands of ordinary women, men and children must be punished. The Kashmiri people must be allowed to decide their own destiny.

The CC of the Communist Ghadar Party of India calls upon all communists, all democratic minded people to condemn the Kupwana massacre and all the other innumerable acts of state terror against the Kashmiri people and fight unitedly for an end to the armed occupation of Kashmir as a precondition for the solution of the Kashmir problem in the interests of the people of Kashmir.

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Demonstration submits petition against Armed Forces Act despite police arrests

Spokesperson of CGPI arrested along with activists of many organisations

Over 100 people belonging to many different organisations were arrested while on a demonstration at Jantar Mantar on 15^th July, to mark the first anniversary of Mother’s Protest in Imphal, Manipur. The arrested activists continued their demonstration inside the Parliament Street police station, shouting slogans, making speeches and singing songs, until the police were compelled to release them and allow their delegation to submit a petition to the Prime Minister. Comrade Prakash Rao, spokesperson of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, was among those arrested. The demonstration was organised by the Committee for the Repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, which had come into being in Delhi in July 2004 to develop solidarity with the peoples of Manipur in their struggle against state terrorism and fascist repression.

Mazdoor Ekta Lehar / People’s Voice condemns the arrest of peaceful demonstrators against state terrorism in Manipur. To unleash the police against people who want to submit a petition of their demands to the Prime Minister is an outright undemocratic act on the part of the government.

Earlier in the day, the demonstrators had gathered at Jantar Mantar, where the representatives of numerous participating organisations expressed their support for the demand to repeal the fascist Armed Forces Act and for speedy trial and punishment of the killers of Manorama Devi. The organisations that participated in the demonstration included Lok Raj Sangathan, Manipur Students Association of Delhi, People’s Union for Democratic Rights, Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathana, Revolutionary Democratic Front, Ambedkar Students’ Organisation, Forum for Democratic Initiative, Progressive Democratic Students Union, All India Students Association, Democratic Students Union, Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha, INSAF and Yuva Bharat.

Addressing the gathering, Prakash Rao said that the peoples of Manipur and the rest of the country have waged a valiant struggle over the past year for the Repeal of the draconian Armed Forces (Special Power’s) Act, 1958 (AFSPA). Twenty five years ago, when AFSPA was extended to the whole state of Manipur, there were only a handful of forces in India, like our Party, who stood shoulder to shoulder with the struggle of the Manipuri people. Now, all over India, people understand, as a result of the peaceful, disciplined, and militant struggle of the peoples of Manipur over the past year, the true problem in Manipur – the rule of the Central state and its armed forces. The Central Government was forced to set up a review committee to review AFSPA after twenty-five long years. It has put forward certain recommendations. We must look at July 15, 2005, the first anniversary of the protest in Imphal, as the beginning of a new phase of struggle. We wage the struggle with the perspective that the fascist AFSPA can, must, and will be repealed, and it will be repealed by the united might of the peoples of India. We are fully confident that the peoples will ensure its repeal. This glorious struggle of our people to repeal AFSPA is part of the struggle for building a new India free of all forms of exploitation and oppression of peoples. He declared that we must fight to establish a state where the masses of workers, peasants of all nations and nationalities hold power and form a voluntary union of the nations, nationalities and tribal peoples. Only such a state can guarantee human rights and national rights and ensure a life of dignity and prosperity for its entire people.

Addressing the activists, Pravin of Lok Raj Sangathan said that the significance of Mother Protest of 15 July 2004 lies in the fact that this event brought the struggle against the draconian Armed Forces Act to the center stage of politics in India. Every political party was forced to make its stand clear on this fascist Act.

Excerpts from the Petition submitted to the PM on July 15

Immediate, expeditious, and public trial of the Assam Rifles personnel involved in the custodial rape and killing of Thangjam Manorama.
Immediate and complete repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.
The Provisions of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act should not be incorporated within any other law in India.
The Report of the Justice C. Upendra Commission on the custodial death of Th. Manorama should be immediately made public.
The report of the National Review Committee on Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, headed by Justice (Retd) B. P. Jeevan Reddy should be immediately made public.

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Lonely at the top

The Editor,

Sir,

This is being written a little after the euphoric reports in the media about the Prime Minister’s visit to the USA. We are now told that the USA’s attitude towards India has undergone a sea change and that it is now prepared to consider India as the rising power in world politics. These reports appeared on the same day as the one when the respected Non-governmental Organization, Iraq Body Count has presented an estimate of 25,000 lost civilian lives in the Iraq war, with the statement that atleast a third of these came from the early days of the war in 2003 characterized by the US led coalitions notorious‘shock and awe’ tactics of relentless bombing of the sovereign country. It is also at a time when the USA has openly upped its ante against China characterizing it as a regional rival and has opposed China’s activities in a host of economic spheres. No doubt the USA is feeling, in a way that it has never felt before, that it can be quite lonely at the top. It has found itself to be friendless on a scale that it has not experienced earlier. Despite its new found love for India, the Indian Prime Minister does not seem to have got any reassurance of USA’s support for India’s claim to a permanent seat in an expanded Security Council, with or without a veto. Of course, enquiring minds may wish to ask of what use is a seat in a body whose members merrily violate its charter, with no respect for the sovereignity of member states, as in the US led invasion of Iraq, but that is a different question altogether.

In the meantime, the CGPI has taken a principled stated in the form of its statements opposing any further co-operation with ‘...US imperialism - the most aggressive, warmongering and dangerous power in the world.’ The party has pointed out that any such behind the doors arrangment with the USA can only bring disaster to the Indian people as well as to the peoples of the region. The Indian ruling classes are busy chasing their so far unattained (or unattainable?) goal of becoming a world power and are prepared to sacrifice the well-being of its people to achieve the goal. There are those in the movement who have lamented the fact that India has given up its former stance of non-alignment and is headed towards becoming a junior partner in a coalition with the USA. While the world has changed significantly since the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, it makes no sense to feel nostalgic about the good old days that have gone by. Progressive forces must show why any cooperation with the USA in the military sphere can only be deleterious. They must all unite to oppose at levels such co-operation.

Sincerely, A. Narayan
Bangalore

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Behind the London blasts

The Editor,

Sir,

I am writing to congratulate the CGPI for its timely and bold statement on the atrocities that have rocked London and also the events that took place in Ayodhya. The party has pointed out time and time again that the ruthless and bloody ruling classes in the world will use any ploy to protect their primary role in running the affairs of individual countries and across international borders. The party has also pointed out that it is impossible to look at terrorism in itself, but in its relation to the events that are unfolding across the world. The party has pointed out that without a shred of evidence, both in the case of London and in the case of Ayodhya, the blame has been accredited to nameless and faceless ‘Islamic terrorists’. There is no doubt that whoever the perpetrators may have been, the ruling classes have come out benefiting from the events here.

Indeed, terrorism has its roots in disorienting and distracting the nationalist forces that were fighting imperialist and colonial domination, and to blunt the revolutionary edge of fighting forces. The involvement of British intelligence in the Irish nationalist struggle, and more recently in the republican struggle is well known. The involvement of the CIA in aiding and covert training of the worst reactionary forces in Latin America and in the former East Bloc is also well documented. In the recent past, the USA has not lived up to its treaty obligations in extraditing Luis Posada Carriles who is wanted in Venezuela for his role in bombing a Cubana airliner in 1976.

Furthermore, terrorist violence is not the only violence that innocent sections of the peoples are subjected to. There is significant organized violence against them due to the exisiting political systems in the world, which are beset by crisis and are suspectible to periodic and orgiastic convlusions of violence. Therefore, it would not be unreasonable to state that if nation states were sincere in their fight against terror, they would have a policy of integrity in tackling the issues that arise in this context. No person, however important, powerful or significant should be considered above the law and above investigation for his or her role in attacks against innocent civilians. Such a policy of integrity would also involve investigations against those holding high offices today, elected or appointed, in countries across the world. Such a comprehensive discussion would have to include, in the context of India, the organization of communal riots, violence against Dalits and women, and the investigation of the likes of Mr. Modi, Sajjan Kumar and others to name a few, the investigation of human rights violations in regions where the armed forces have unlimited powers. In the international context in the activities of the USA and other occupying powers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and or Israel in the occupied territories, and the ruling circles that have recently come to power in Lebanon.

Progressive forces across the world should be watchful about the machinations of the ruling classes at this time towards curtaling democratic rights in the name of the fight against terror.

Sincerely, S. Grover
New York

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The bogey of anti - saffronisation

The Editor,

Sir,

I am writing to you about the continuing crisis enveloping the announced disinvestment of the assets of the public sector company Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. to the tune of 10%. Due to the continuing opposition of the Left Front, that supports the UPA Government from the outside, now the Government is considering toning down the share to be sold to 5%. There are frequent reports in the media of meetings of the officials of the Government and Ministers with members of the Left Front and the discussions seem to have reached an impasse. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi has also met members of the Left Front and the media reports that the talks have also failed.

There is no doubt that these events represent a significant crisis, not so much for the UPA or the Congress Party as it is for the Left Front! The former has been very brazen about its intent to continue merrily along the track of privatization and disinvestment in order for the bourgeoisie to maintain and protect its role as the pre-eminent power in Indian society, at the expense of the vast majority of the society, namely, the workers, peasants, toilers, the poor and the dispossessed. It may be recalled that the economic reforms of the 1990’s was initiated by the Congress Party which after sitting in the opposition benches for many years, is now relishing its role as the fountainhead of the bourgeoisie. Therefore it is not facing a crisis. The crisis is being faced by the CPM and the other members of the Left Front, who on the one hand have to put up the front of defending the interests of the working class, (which has shown its revulsion for the same programme of privatization and disinvestment, and is not likely to be fooled by the claims of the Finance Minister that the procees from the sale of the assests of the BHEL would go into a Fund for education, infrastructure, etc..,) while on the other has to provide the left flank for the bourgeoisie.

It is time that the bogey of opposing saffronization so as to support the anti-people, anti-worker, anti-peasant UPA Government is exposed. It is contingent on all progressive forces to oppose this sale of BHEL assets and those of any public undertaking at this time, even if it means precipitating in a constitutional crisis and bringing the downfall of the present UPA Government.

Sincerely,
A. Narayan, Bangalore

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60^th Anniversary of Hiroshima:

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Unite against imperialist wars and uphold the cause of world peace!

August 6 this year marks the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atom bomb by the United States on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, at the end of World War II. A few days later, a second bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki raised the level of carnage, of mass slaughter in the world as a whole, to

The Bomb that devastated

unprecedented and barbaric levels. The lives of lakhs of people going about their daily lives were indiscriminately snuffed out in one moment by the mere pressing of a button. The horror did not end there. It continued for years and decades afterwards, in the suffering of those who were cruelly burnt and maimed, or who were affected by the enormously high levels of radiation. That is why the 6^th of August each year is observed as a day to protest against unjust wars and militarisation, especially nuclear militarisation, and to uphold the cause of world peace.

The bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were dropped in the closing days of World War II, after the valiant efforts of the Soviet and other Allied forces had already broken the backs of Japan’s collaborators, the German and Italian fascist forces in Europe. The US government justified the use of the atom bombs in the name of bringing the war to a rapid close, and thereby ‘saving lives’. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese lives were laid waste allegedly in order to ‘save lives’. The real reason had to do with the desire of US imperialism to establish its unchallenged supremacy in the Far East at the end of the War, especially to undercut the position of the Soviet Union, with which it allied during the last stage of the War.

A few days after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered to the US armed forces headed by Gen. Macarthur, who then proceeded to establish an unchallenged US occupation over Japan. Hiroshima brought out the true character of the Second World War. While the masses of people in the various countries fought heroically against fascism and to defend their freedom, the major capitalist and imperialist powers of the time, both the Axis powers and Allied powers such as the US and Britain, fought to expand, establish or regain their supremacy and to safeguard their unbridled licence to exploit other peoples and lands.

The use of the atom bomb in World War II provided legitimacy to the dangerous arms race that followed. In the name of safeguarding their national interests, various big powers spent untold sums of money to develop newer and more sophisticated weapons of mass destruction, to the point where the world as a whole has been held hostage to the prospect of a nuclear holocaust. The chief driver of this militarisation has been US imperialism. This is the same power that last year launched a brazen war of aggression against Iraq in the name of searching for weapons of mass destruction! In the years since Hiroshima, US imperialism has shown an even more blatant disregard for the lives of other peoples, launching countless wars on the most flimsy pretexts, and experimenting with newer and ever more deadly forms of weaponry, nuclear as well as chemical weapons, germ warfare and biological warfare. Today, it is a matter of shame and of serious concern that the Manmohan Singh government in India is seeking legitimacy and support from none other than the US imperialists for its own nuclear weapons program, which it too justifies in the name of ‘national interest’.

Hiroshima reminds us that the peoples of the world can never be safe as long as stockpiles of nuclear weapons continue to exist, as long as the arms race continues unchecked, and as long as capitalism and imperialism, which are the source of wars of conquest and domination in today’s world, are not rooted out from the face of this earth.

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Systematic and cynical efforts of Tony Blair government to step up racist and fascist onslaught on people needs condemnation!

Within two weeks of the London terrorist strike which claimed the lives of over 50 innocent people of different faiths and nationalities, and injured hundreds more, the policy of the British state post 7/7 is increasingly clear. Tony Blair announced the direction of attack by declaring that the bombings were the work of people of the Muslim faith, at a time when the London police, which was in charge of the investigations, was saying that there were no claims to the bombings, that they were gathering forensic evidence, and would not like to announce anything before that. Now, it turns out that there is no need for all this forensic evidence as well as serious investigations. It is an “open and shut case” according to the British government. They have announced the identities of the bombers, and declared that these bombers had also died in the bombings. Those accused cannot defend themselves as they are dead. Their relatives, friends, and co-workers just cannot believe the accusations. The entire community is in a state of shock.

The government and media have repeated their version of the bombing in such a pernicious manner that people are forced to believe this is the truth. The Goebelsian propaganda method of repeating a lie a thousand times to turn it into truth has been put into practice by the Blair government. Blair declared, “There will of course now be the most intense police and security service action to make sure we bring those responsible to justice,” “When they try to intimidate us, we will not be intimidated, when they seek to change our country, our way of life by these methods, we will not be changed.”

Tony Blair’s theme song is the old theme song of the British bourgeoisie, which it has been singing for some years to justify racist attacks against national minorities. According to this song, the national minorities – Asians, Africans, Caribbeans – have a different “way of life”. There is immense pressure on these people to change their “way of life”. Minorities should give up their languages, cultures, - otherwise they are a danger to the “British way of life”, This racist and fascist definition of a “british way of life” has been rejected by the British working class and people again and again over the years. The working class has defended the rights of national minorities. Now this is under attack.

Blair is putting pressure on the “leaders of the Muslim community” to condemn terrorism. He is issuing daily declarations that there should be no “revenge” attacks. This is a typical method of creating an atmosphere of violence and hatred that we in India are extremely familiar with. In the eighties, every terrorist attack in India was blamed on the people of the Sikh faith. Since the nineties, every terrorist attack is blamed on Muslims and Kashmiris. Then pressure is put on people in these sections to disassociate themselves from these attacks. In other words, they are forced to accept the government logic that people from their communities committed a terrorist attack, that the community as a whole is responsible for it, and they must support the fascist repression of the state against their communities. If they do not do so, they are branded as extremists and terrorists. Through this whole fascist method, an atmosphere is created wherein the communities are condemned and isolated.

Where does the issue of “revenge” attacks arise from the fact that the Blair government has first painted the minorities in general, and Muslims in particular, as the target for attacks.

The British state, like the US state and Indian state, is one that has a history of organising and participating in terrorist crimes against the peoples, both within the country and abroad. Today, in the context of the mass opposition of the British working class and people to the anti-social offensive within the country and the war in Iraq, definite moves are being made to fascise the society and attack the rights and liberties of the peoples. The fact that the national minorities in Britain have been actively participating in the political life of the country, and vigorously participating in the anti-war and anti-globalisation protests is not to the liking of the British state. What better than to use 7/7 to drive a wedge amongst the British people, to attack the national minorities, to divert the British people from their struggle against racism, fascism and war, against the rule of the monopolies.

We are confident that the British working class and people will heighten their vigilance and strengthen their unity against the reactionary outrages the British imperialists are committing.

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Terrorism - a tool of the imperialists in their war against the peoples

Interesting revelations are made in an article on July 11 2005 by Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones (Prison Planet) that appeared in the Website of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) that throw a little more light on the London bombings of 7/7.

According to the article, a consultancy agency with government and police connections was running an exercise for an unnamed company on the morning of July 7, 2005. The exercise involved “bombing” the London Underground and testing the reactions to the bombing. Interestingly, the “bombings” were at the exact same times and locations as happened in real life on the morning of July 7th!

On a BBC interview aired on the evening of the 7th, the host interviewed Peter Power, Managing Director of Visor Consultants, in charge of organising the fake bombing exercise. Peter Power was a former Scotland Yard official, working at one time with the Anti-Terrorist Branch.

The transcript is as follows.

POWER: At half past nine this morning we were actually running an exercise for a company of over a thousand people in London based on simultaneous bombs going off precisely at the railway stations where it happened this morning, so I still have the hairs on the back of my neck standing up right now.

HOST: To get this quite straight, you were running an exercise to see how you would cope with this and it happened while you were running the exercise?

POWER: Precisely, and it was about half past nine this morning, we planned this for a company and for obvious reasons I don’t want to reveal their name but they’re listening and they’ll know it. And we had a room full of crisis managers for the first time they’d met and so within five minutes we made a pretty rapid decision that this is the real one and so we went through the correct drills of activating crisis management procedures to jump from slow time to quick time thinking and so on.

The authors of the article point out that the issue is not whether Mr. Power is involved in the bombings or had any clue about it. However, the exercise fulfils several different goals. It acts as a cover for the small compartmentalised government terrorists to carry out their operation without the larger security services becoming aware of what they’re doing, and, more importantly, if they get caught during the attack or after with any incriminating evidence they can just claim that they were just taking part in the exercise.

The authors point out that this is precisely what happened on the morning of 9/11/2001. The CIA was conducting drills of flying hijacked planes into the WTC and Pentagon at 8:30 in the morning. It is clear that at least five if not six training exercises were in operation in the days leading up to and on the morning of 9/11. This meant that NORAD radar screens showed as many as 22 hijacked airliners at the same time. NORAD had been briefed that this was part of the exercise drill and therefore normal reactive procedure was forestalled and delayed.

The large numbers of “blips” on NORAD screens that displayed both real and “drill” hijacked planes explain why confused press reports emerged hours after the attack stating that up to eight planes had been hijacked.

The authors conclude “The Anglo-American establishment that controls the military-industrial complex of the West has been caught over a hundred times carrying out bombings and other terrorist attacks around the world to further their corporate aims and to blame their enemies. The US government has been caught planning to carry out attacks and carrying out attacks. The British government has been caught red-handed as well. Members of Vladimir Putin’s FSB were caught planting bombs in a Russian apartment building in 1999 by the Moscow police.

“This is not speculation. Kermit Roosevelt admitted on NPR radio that in 1953 the CIA and British intelligence carried out a wave of bombings and shootings in Iran. He then went on to brag about how they subsequently blamed the bombings on Iran’s President, Mossadegh.”

“The London bombings have the same signature as the Madrid bombings of 3/11. Both of these bombings are almost indistinguishable from the Bologna bombing in 1980 that killed over 80 people.

“The bombing in Bologna was part of a CIA operation code named Gladio, where the US government would pay right-wing terrorists to carry out bombings to be blamed on leftists in Europe. All of this was blown wide open when two of the Bologna bombers were convicted in an Italian court, forcing them to spill their guts admitting that they were neo-fascists contracted by the CIA. Operation Gladio documents have since been declassified.

“The London terror alert level was lowered before the bombings took place. This gave the perpetrators extra cover to plan and execute the attack without having to evade the most stringent security.

“In any crime you look at history and motive, The British government has been caught in multiple examples of carrying out bombings in London which were then blamed on the IRA.

“The Madrid train bombing is another example. The bombers were found to be police informants with close links to the Spanish security services. They had access to the most secure areas of the Madrid train system. The Spanish government initially tried to blame the Basque group ETA for the blast in the hope that the people would rally behind the government and get them re-elected. After ETA denied involvement and the people started saying the government was involved, the Spanish government had to blame Al-Qaeda and kill some patsies by claiming they blew themselves up during a raid.

“The London Underground exercises were used as the fallback cover to carry out the attack. This is the biggest smoking gun yet pointing directly to the most secretive levels of the British establishment itself being behind the attack

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Operation Gladio

We reproduce below excerpts from an article by Chris Floyd which is carried in the Website of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist).

“You had to attack civilians, the people, women, children, innocent people, unknown people far removed from any political game. The reason was quite simple: to force ... the public to turn to the state to ask for greater security.”

This was the essence of Operation Gladio, a decades-long covert campaign of terrorism and deceit directed by the intelligence services of the West – against their own populations. Hundreds of innocent people were killed or maimed in terrorist attacks – on train stations, supermarkets, cafes and offices – which were then blamed on “leftist subversives” or other political opponents. The purpose, as stated above in sworn testimony by Gladio agent Vincenzo Vinciguerra, was to demonize designated enemies and frighten the public into supporting ever-increasing powers for government leaders – and their elitist cronies.

First revealed by Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti in 1991, Gladio (from the Latin for “sword”) is still protected to this day by its founding patrons, the CIA and MI6. Yet parliamentary investigations in Italy, Switzerland and Belgium have shaken out a few fragments of the truth over the years. These have been gathered in a new book, “NATO’s Secret Armies: Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe” by Daniele Ganser, as Lila Rajiva reports on CommonDreams.org.

Using right-wing militias, underworld figures, government provocateurs and secret military units, Gladio not only carried out widespread terrorism, assassinations and electoral subversion in democratic states such as Italy, France and West Germany, but also bolstered fascist tyrannies in Spain and Portugal, abetted the military coup in Greece and aided Turkey’s repression of the Kurds.

Among the “smoking guns” unearthed by Ganser is a Pentagon document, Field Manual FM 30-31B, which details the methodology for launching terrorist attacks in nations that “do not react with sufficient effectiveness” against “communist subversion”. Ironically, the manual states that the most dangerous moment comes when leftist groups “renounce the use of force” and embrace the democratic process. It is then that “US army intelligence must have the means of launching special operations which will convince Host Country Governments and public opinion of the reality of the insurgent danger”. Naturally, these peace-throttling “special operations must remain strictly secret”, the document warns.

Indeed, it would not do for the families of the 85 people ripped apart by the Aug. 2, 1980 bombing of the Bologna train station to know that their loved ones had been murdered by “men inside Italian state institutions and ... men linked to the structures of United States intelligence,” as the Italian Senate concluded after its investigation in 2000.

The Bologna atrocity is an example of what Gladio’s masters called “the strategy of tension” – fomenting fear to keep populations in thrall to “strong leaders” who will protect the nation from the ever-present terrorist threat. And as Rajiva notes, this strategy wasn’t limited to Western Europe. It was applied, with gruesome effectiveness, in Central America by the Reagan and Bush administrations. During the 1980s, right-wing death squads, guerrilla armies and state security forces – armed, trained and supplied by the United States – murdered tens of thousands of people throughout the region, often acting with particular savagery at those times when peaceful solutions to the conflicts seemed about to take hold.

Last month, it was widely reported that the Pentagon is considering a similar programme in Iraq. What was not reported, however – except in the Iraqi press – is that at least one pro-occupation death squad is already in operation.

While not infallible, the ancient Latin question is still the best guide to penetrating the bloody murk of modern terrorism: Cui bono? Who benefits? Whose powers and policies are enhanced by the attack? For it is indisputable that the “strategy of tension” means power and profit for those who claim to possess the key to “security”. And from the halls of the Kremlin to the banks of the Potomac, this cynical strategy is the ruling ideology of our times.

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Posco Steel – Biggest ever foreign investment in India

To whom does the mineral wealth of Orissa belong and who should decide how it should be tapped?

The Government of Orissa has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the South Korean giant steel corporation called Posco, for an investment worth US$ 12 billion, which is more than Rs. 50,000 crore. This will be the biggest ever foreign direct investment project in the country to date. It includes a 30 million tonne iron ore mine in western Orissa, a 12 million tonne steel plant in the port town of Paradeep to produce hot-rolled coils, and the building and upgrading of port facilities to ship the steel to South-East Asian destinations. The steel plant is likely to start production by 2009.

The deal between the multinational company and the state government has been under negotiation for the past one year or more. It was brought to a conclusion in June 2005 with the active assistance of the big capitalist Ratan Tata, representing the Investment Commission of the Central Government, which reports directly to the central Finance Minister Chidambaram.

As part of the agreement, Posco will obtain a license to extract the high quality iron ore and use it in its steel plant. It will also enjoy the right to export a portion of the ore in exchange for low alumina content ore imported from Brazil, to be used along with the ore from Orissa in the production of steel. As a result, the company’s cost of production per tonne of steel in Orissa would be much lower than elsewhere in the world. In particular, Posco chose Orissa in preference to Brazil to locate its new steel plant mainly because it could obtain the ore dirt cheap in Orissa, from its own mines, compared to the market rate that it has to pay for ore in Brazil.

Almost all political parties and peoples’ organisations in Orissa, with the exception of those in power, have raised their voices against the MoU signed by the Naveen Patnaik government with Posco. Legitimate questions have been raised against the secretive manner in which this deal has been concluded, behind the backs of the people of Orissa and of the tribal people who live on the land where the mines are located.

There are several concerns that have been raised about the Posco deal. First, there is the concern that the extraction of mineral wealth cannot be at the expense of the tribal people who have traditionally lived on the land to be mined. Second, there is the concern that the mineral wealth of Orissa belongs to the people of Orissa as a whole and should be used for their benefit, not for the benefit of alien interests at the expense of the long-term interests of Orissa. Third, there is the concern about the exclusive nature of the decision making process, where the state and central governments strike deals with big capitalists and multinational companies while the majority of people are kept in the dark.

The Posco deal has brought to the fore the question of safeguarding the interests of the tribal people who are threatened with displacement and loss of livelihood as a result of proposed investments. It has also brought to the limelight the plunder of the resources that belong to the people of Orissa by Indian and international corporate interests.

Under the existing system of center-state relations that exist in India, the state government collects the revenue from royalty on minerals extracted in its territory, but it does not have the right to set the rate of royalty. The central government sets the royalty rate for all major minerals, including iron ore. And it is a well documented fact that the Central Government has deliberately kept the royalty rate at the lowest level possible. Under such conditions, the only way Orissa can ensure a greater share for itself of the benefits from mineral exploration is for the state government itself to invest in mining, and to sell the ore at market price. However, the Government of Orissa has chosen to rely instead on private investors, Indian and foreign. This decision is legitimately being questioned by the working class and people of Orissa and of India as a whole, as to why such a crucial and strategic a sector as mining is being handed over to alien interests.

The Indian big bourgeoisie wants to become a major steel producer in the world. From the present capacity of around 38 million tonnes, it wants to produce 100 million tonnes in the next few years. This is part of its plan to make India one of the big imperial powers in the world. In order to implement this plan, the central government is willing to go to any lengths. It is encouraging state governments to carve out mining rights for the Indian big monopolies such as Tata Steel and Essar, alongside international giants such as Posco and Mittal Steel. The Government of Orissa has already started anti-people activities such as displacing the tribal peoples from the mining areas, displacing fishermen along the coast to build new ports, and displacing people to build highways to transport the steel. The state police and paramilitary forces have been unleashed against the tribal peoples and against any organisation that dares to question the entry of Posco and other private profiteers into Western Orissa.

The Posco deal poses the question squarely: who is the owner of the mineral wealth that lies below the land of Orissa? Is it the people of Orissa or is it the central and state governments that represent the interests of a handful of big capitalists, Indian and international?

The question as to who controls the natural resources of India is an integral part of the question as to where sovereignty lies in India today. India is constituted of many nations, nationalities and tribal peoples. The right over the land and natural resources is an inalienable right of the nations, nationalities and tribal peoples who live in the area. It is they who should decide how much of the resources should be used for what purpose and for whose benefit, as well as the rate of royalty and prices to be charged.

The enabling of the right of nations, nationalities and tribal peoples over their natural resources is an acknowledgement of the inviolability of rights that belong to nations and peoples, by virtue of their existence. The Indian bourgeoisie has never acknowledged the existence of different nations, nationalities and peoples within this country, with their respective rights. It has treated the whole of India as its chattel, which can be exploited at will and whose land, natural resources and labour can be looted and sold at will.

The right of the peoples over their natural resources can be defended and affirmed only through the establishment of a voluntary Indian Union in place of the existing arrangement, which is a legacy of colonial rule. Only a Union of Workers’ and Peasants’ Republics of India can ensure that the natural resources will be used for the benefit of the people to whom it belongs. Such a voluntary union will ensure that the rights of different collectives are harmonised with each other and with the general interest of society.

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