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Internet Edition: March 1-15, 2006
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Online Archives
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Mass campaign develops against Bush's visit and India-US strategic alliance
A storm of opposition from people across India awaits US President George W. Bush, when he arrives in India on March 1, at the invitation of the Manmohan Singh government. From demonstrations and sit-in dharnas to poster competitions, street plays, exhibitions and concerts, the forms of protest are varied but the target is the same. Workers, peasants, women and youth are vigorously protesting against the growing unholy alliance between India and the US, which is likely to receive a major boost during the visit. They are also voicing their opposition to imperialism, fascism and war, in the backdrop of the continuing occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and the military threat and nuclear blackmail against Iran. People are concerned about the growing violation of the sovereignty of peoples and countries, under the see-through guise of the war against terrorism. The CGPI has been actively working to develop a united campaign against Bush's visit, in order to best express these concerns of the people of India. The campaign is also receiving support from anti-imperialist forces in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and the world over, who are looking to the people of India to block a US - India military strategic alliance. The CGPI has through leaflets, posters, corner meetings, etc. been agitating among the people about the dangers posed to peace and sovereignty from the growing Indo-US strategic alliance. Other Communist parties including the CPI and CPIM have also been campaigning against Bush's visit. A signature campaign on a white banner expressing opposition to Bush's visit is being carried out. Beginning from Rajghat on the morning of February 20, the campaign has been taken to many places in the city including Jantar Mantar and the three central universities – Delhi University, JNU and Jamia Milia Islamia. Residents' Welfare Associations in many residential colonies of Delhi have decided to jointly oppose Bush's visit. Massive anti-imperialist rallies are being organised by different political forces in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Calicut, Lucknow and other cities and towns. The Jamiat Ulema E Hind and the Jamiat Islami E Hind are organising country wide rallies. Meetings of the Sanatam Dharam Parishad are meanwhile being held in various towns of UP, Rajasthan and MP. Church organisations and Gandhian groups have also been participating in the campaign. The Bharatiya Kisan Union (UP), in its panchayat held at Hardwar, decided to participate in the rally in Delhi. The Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha organised public meetings in Darya Ganj and Chandni Chowk, at the Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah, at Batla House and at Lajpat Nagar with banners denouncing Bush's visit. They announced plans to join the protest rally on March 1, to express the indignation and the opposition of the Indian youth to Bush's visit. Teachers and students in various campuses across the country are actively demonstrating their opposition to Bush's visit. The Lok Raj Sangathan has initiated together with several other organisations a joint mass campaign. Colourful posters declaring "George Bush, you are not our guest!" in English and "Bush Haiwan, Kiska Mehmaan?" in Hindi are being put up in the city as well as in other nearby towns. The leaflet jointly issued by these organisations states:"At stake are the very futures of India and the other countries of this region, the cause of peace and sovereignty of countries. If the government of India does not heed the Voice of the people, let us prepare to "greet" this enemy of the world's peoples with a united show of strength to make it clear to one and all where India and her people stand! Let us, through protests, demonstrations and meetings show to one and all that Butcher Bush is not welcome in India. Let us, the people of South Asia rise up as a mighty united force against US imperialism. Let us actively participate in the campaign against Bush's visit!" Auto-rickshaws, buses, taxis and other vehicles plying through the busy areas of the city can be seen bearing on them colourful stickers that read "Keep Bush Out!", "Bush Haiwan, Kiska Mehmaan?" "Bush Quit India" and other slogans. |
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Condemn the premeditated provocation and imperialist campaign against Muslims! Statement of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, February 22, 2006 All over India and the world, people have been shocked, hurt and angered by the systematic campaign by the imperialist media targeting people of the Muslim faith. The Communist Ghadar Party of India unreservedly condemns the imperialists for launching a deliberate provocative campaign against people of the Muslim faith with extremely nefarious aims. Beginning with the publication of cartoons denigrating Prophet Mohammed, by a right wing Danish newspaper late last year, a number of newspapers in France and other countries of Europe have republished these offensive cartoons in the past two months. This has happened despite the fact that not only the peoples, but also governments of numerous countries have condemned these provocations and called for a public apology as well as a clear statement from the governments of the countries wherein these cartoons were published. The reactionary and imperialist forces are justifying their stand of publishing these cartoons under the worn out slogan of "defending freedom of expression"! The publication and republication of cartoons denigrating Prophet Mohammed is a pre-meditated and well considered act by the imperialists. It comes at a time when the entire Bush-Blair policy of "war against terror" is in crisis in Iraq and Afghanistan, and public demands for withdrawal of troops from Iraq have gathered great momentum in Denmark and other countries of the world who are part of the US led occupation coalition. It comes at a time when the US imperialists are preparing conditions, including public opinion in North America and Europe, for launching an all out war of aggression against Iran. Throughout Europe, in the conditions of deepening economic crisis, the imperialist governments are pushing through massive attacks on the working class and simultaneously trying to split the unity of the workers on race, nationality, and religion. The publications of the cartoons denigrating the Prophet need to be seen in this context too. And internationally, the growing unity of the anti-imperialist anti-war forces of all lands, which has been greatly strengthened in the past few years of struggle throughout the world, is sought to be split on religious lines. Those who published the cartoons and the governments that have supported these publications in the name of "defending freedom of expression" knew very well that passions would be inflamed amongst the believers of the Muslim faith throughout the world. After the first round of rousing of passions by the Danish publication, they have launched a second round of publications. They want to portray the people of the Muslim faith as irrational, extremist, illiberal, and opposed to freedom of speech and so on. The imperialist controlled media is distortedly portraying the resistance struggle of people of the Muslim faith who are deeply hurt and are expressing their anger in different ways, including public demonstrations. State repression in many countries of the world, including Nigeria and Pakistan, in which dozens of people have been killed, is being justified by portraying the victims in diabolical colours. Freedom of expression is a right that belongs to every human being, as part of his or her right to conscience. However, as the Danish communists have pointed out, “it cannot be accepted as an unlimited right of the ruling class to insult other people and cause tension, violence, war and destruction. Freedom of speech should always be subordinated to ethics and the rules of civilized behaviour among peoples and nations”. The "defence of freedom of speech" by the leaders of the European countries and North America is a big fraud. Controlled by the monopolies, the media has told lies after lies on every issue, whether the problems of the economy or the reasons for the war on Iraq, or the source of the problems faced by the Muslim peoples. The views of the working class and people, the views of the anti-imperialist forces, are never permitted to be expressed in these imperialist controlled media. Only the views of the imperialists and reactionaries as well as sensational statements from bigots and charlatans of all breeds are allowed expression. This is but natural in these times when imperialists and reactionaries throughout the world are fascising the state and preparing for imperialist wars of redivision. It is clear that the present imperialist campaign of slander against Muslim peoples has the aim of dividing the growing unity against the imperialists, their wars, their economic policies and their unjust subjugation of peoples and nations. The peoples of the world, the anti-imperialist and anti-war forces, must not allow their unity to be disrupted. This demands that the fighting people use the occasion to further develop the struggle against imperialism, fascism and war. The Communist Ghadar Party of India calls upon the workers and toiling people of India to resolutely condemn the dastardly imperialist campaign against people of the Muslim faith. An attack on one is an attack on all! The attack on people of the Muslim faith is part of the imperialist onslaught on all peoples and nations, and must be rebuffed by the united opposition of the workers and all the oppressed of all lands, and by all the truly enlightened forces. |
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Hong Kong Ministerial meeting: Government of India is playing a pro-imperialist role in the WTO The Honk Kong Ministerial meeting, the sixth since the start of the Uruguay Round, was held during 13-18 December, 2005. The positions taken and role played by the Government of India at this meeting shows that it is acting in the service of the Indian and international monopoly capitalist corporations, and of the imperialist system. It is not acting in the interests of the workers and peasants of our country, nor of the small and medium-scale enterprises. Nor is it defending the right of every country to pursue a self-reliant course and decide its policies free from outside pressure or dictate. The facts reveal that the Government of India is acting to defend the system of unequal trade and plunder; and to expand the share of Indian corporations in the loot at the expense of the people of India and the world. Agriculture One of the most important questions on which there is a deep division in the WTO between different groupings of countries is trade in agriculture and subsidies related to agriculture. The United States and the European Union spend billions of dollars annually in the form of domestic subsidies to agricultural producers. This guarantees cheap supply of agricultural products for the giant multinational agro-business corporations, enabling them to capture the world market for food and other agro products. This is a direct attack on the livelihood of the people of many countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America where majority of people have agriculture and related activities as their source of livelihood. The US and the EU keep insisting that all the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America must lower their duties on all imported goods, allegedly because high import duties are “trade distorting”. At the same time, they refuse to cut down their extraordinarily high farm subsidies by even one dollar. In recent years, many countries have allied together within the WTO to insist that they will not lower import duties further unless the US and EU cut their subsidies to agricultural producers. The conflict on this issue is one of the major reasons why the WTO meet at Cancun ended without any agreement. At Hong Kong, an agreement was reached to set 2013 as the deadline for eliminating ‘export subsidies’ on agricultural products. But nothing was agreed regarding ‘domestic support’. This distinction between ‘export subsidy’ and ‘domestic support’ is an artificial one, which is being used by the US and EU to avoid having to concede anything substantial. Both forms of state support to agriculture serve to guarantee cheap supply of raw materials to agri-business trading corporations. Between 1995 and 2004, for instance, European countries were able to increase agricultural exports by 26 percent thanks to the massive ‘domestic support’ for agriculture. Each percentage increase in exports means a financial gain of US $ 3 billion for the trading companies. Export subsidies refer to payments that are made directly to exporters of agro-products and not to agricultural producers. They constitute a very small part of the total support that agriculture receives in the EU, no more than 3.5%. The total support to agriculture provided by the richest trading block – 30 countries forming the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – amounts to US $ 360 billion. Of this, less than 1% is ‘export subsidy’ and more than 99% is ‘domestic support’. The so-called ‘concession’ that the US and EU have made at Hong Kong is to phase out the less than 1% component over the next eight years, while not agreeing to do anything about the more than 99% component. India played a prominent role in hammering out the Framework for agriculture at Geneva in August 2004, which now forms the basis for all deals on agriculture. In the lead up to the Hong Kong Ministerial, India again played the role of one of the power brokers on this question between the US and EU on the one hand and the other countries of the world. It was an important member of an informal grouping known as the "New Quad", consisting of the United States, European Union, India and Brazil. The New Quad played a decisive role in setting the agenda and the direction of negotiations. Its main objective was to save the WTO from total collapse, which seemed a real possibility after the disaster at Cancun. In the face of the reluctance of the US and EU to make any real concessions in agriculture, India's role was to ensure that the US and EU achieved their aims, in return for benefits to Indian monopolies in other sectors. Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) The biggest imperialist states have for some time now been pushing the ‘Swiss formula’ for reducing import duties on non-agricultural products. According to this formula, those states with higher import duties to start with must make bigger cuts each year. The majority of capitalistically less developed countries in the WTO have been resisting the pressure to agree to this ‘Swiss formula’. In all the pronouncements prior to the Ministerial meeting, the Indian representatives had declared that they are against the Swiss Formula. However, at Hong Kong India did an about turn and supported the Swiss Formula. General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) A consensus document was adopted on services trade at Hong Kong, which is referred to as Annex C. Among other things, this allows groups of states to apply collective pressure on any individual state to open up its borders to the import of services. While the majority of countries capitalistically less developed in the services sector criticized this draft, India supported it and facilitated its adoption. Conclusions The WTO is an instrument in the hands of the biggest capitalist corporations to intensify the plunder of the world's peoples through trade. These monopolies use their control over their own states to push through their own anti-people agendas at the expense of the peoples. There are sharp inter capitalist contradictions between the different corporations which could be used by states that defend the interests of their people and the worlds peoples. The inter imperialist, inter monopoly conflicts are also being settled by deals struck by various governments of the monopolies behind the backs of the people. In fact, most of the negotiations and deals in the WTO are being settled in cloak and dagger meetings between countries representing this or that monopoly interest and then pushed through in the public forums. All the imperialist states work overtime as the spokespersons of the big corporations of their countries, India included. The Indian government claims to be acting in the best interests of the people, but the interests it actually pursues within the WTO are those of the big capitalist corporations, to expand their sway over foreign markets. Its role in the WTO reflects the big bourgeoisie's aspiration for India to become one of the biggest imperialist powers of the world. The anti-imperialist peoples, nations and governments in the world must beware of the deceptive and treacherous role of the Government of India, which is like the wolf in sheep’s clothing. |
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Massive rally against monarchy and in support of democracy in Nepal On February 12, 2006, at the call of the Nepali Jan Adhikar Suraksha Samiti Bharat, over 50,000 Nepali people from all across India marched to Ram Lila Maidan in New Delhi and participated in a mass rally.
The rally was chaired by Comrade Laxman Pant, Central Committee, Nepali Jan Adhikar Suraksha Samiti Bharat. The revolutionary fervour and enthusiasm of all the participants, mainly workers, but also students, was palpable. The rally began with the singing of the Internationale in Nepali. The rally accused the monarchy of being the biggest obstacle to peace, progress and democracy in Nepal. Speakers at the rally said that Nepal had been passing through a turbulent phase for the last ten years. The monarchy, which was getting full support from India and the US, was on the brink of collapse. Comrade Laxman Pant, after explaining the situation in Nepal, said the rally was organised to gather international support and solidarity for the Nepali people, who were facing a repressive undemocratic regime. Other Nepali leaders who addressed the rally included President of ANWA, revolutionary Jaipuri Gharti, Ishwar Chandra Gyawali of Jansanskritik Sangh, Shivraj Gautam of Anan (revolutionary) and Hari Roka. Leaders of several parties and organisations from India addressed the rally and expressed the solidarity of the Indian working class and people with the struggle of the Nepali people against the monarchy. These included CGPI spokesperson Prakash Rao, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader Atul Anjan, CPI(ML) leader Swapan Mukherji, NCP spokesperson DP tripathi, Vijay Pratap of Socialist Front, GN Saibaba of the RDF, Aparna Sarin of IFTU, JNUSU leader Mona Das, Gautam Navlakha and others. Revolutionary leader of Andhra Pradesh, Ghadar and his cultural team presented a programme. In his address, Prakash Rao, spokesperson of CGPI, saluted the valiant struggle of the people of Nepal against the monarchy and for a democratic republic. The people of Nepal, whose wisdom and courage is second to none, will certainly defeat the machinations of their enemies — the autocratic rule of the usurper king Gyanendra, as well as all the imperialist and reactionary forces of the world who either openly or secretly are backing this monarchy and its repressive rule. While Gyanendra is trying to win international support by portraying his fascist rule as part of the "war against terrorism", this worn out card has no takers worldwide amongst the anti-imperialist forces. Prakash Rao pointed out that the imperialists as well as the Indian ruling class have historically propped up the autocracy and all that is backward in Nepal, and in recent years have been militarily assisting and training the Royal Nepalese Army in crushing the struggle of the people for democracy. The Nepalese people know from their own bitter historical experience that neither the Indian state, nor the US imperialist state can be relied upon as an ally in the struggle for democracy, peace and progress. Today the working class and peoples of the world are waging an ever more powerful struggle against imperialism, fascism and war, for genuine democracy, for sovereignty and for all round social progress. The revolutionary struggle of the Nepalese people against the monarchy is a part of this great struggle sweeping the world. In conclusion, Comrade Prakash Rao expressed the firm conviction of the Communist Ghadar Party of India that the Nepalese people will soon settle scores with the monarchy and open the path to establishing a democratic republic. |
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Denmark Has Lost Its Innocence - Sven Tarp, International Relations Secretary, Communist Party of Denmark Marxist-Leninist "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," Shakespeare wrote in his famous Hamlet some four centuries ago. The events that have taken place during the last weeks and months show that Shakespeare's words have gained new actuality. We who live in Denmark can confirm that everything is not as it ought to be. According to the modern myth already created, it all started in my home town, the city of Aarhus, on September 30 last year when the national newspaper with a regional name, Jyllands Posten (The Jutland Post), published 12 cartoons that presented an offensive, stereotypical image of Mohammed. The official reason for printing the cartoons was, according to the editor-in-chief, to challenge the way freedom of speech is practised in Denmark as it is allegedly being restricted due to a growing Muslim influence. Before publishing the cartoons, they were shown to a series of experts who explained that they most certainly would provoke anger among Muslims who would feel offended by the way their prophet was portrayed. So, the printing of the cartoons was from the very beginning planned as a malicious provocation. Official and Real Motives It is always difficult to guess the personal motives of those who take inappropriate decisions. And these motives are, indeed, of little interest. What is important is the historical context in which the decisions are taken and the role generally played by the decision-makers. From that point of view, it is easy to conclude that the publication of the cartoons is part of a national agenda promoted by the Danish ruling circles with a double purpose: - to divide the Danish working class into nationals and foreigners, Christians and Muslims, in order to weaken its resistance to the brutal imposition of neo-liberal policies at a very specific moment where the Danish economy is momentarily one of the most thriving within the general framework of a crisis-ridden capitalist world economy; - to weaken – by creating an artificial image of the Muslim world as an enemy the growing demand among the Danish people that Danish troops should be withdrawn from Iraq where they are taking part in the illegal occupation headed by U.S. imperialism. From the very beginning, the whole issue has been treated with a mixture of arrogance and stupidity, both by the editors of Jyllands Posten and by the Danish government. It soon became clear that the Muslim peoples did feel offended. The Muslim society in Denmark, in early October, organized demonstrations and called on the newspaper to apologize for the publication. This was refused with the false pretext of defending freedom of speech. On October 19, ambassadors from 11 Muslim countries requested a meeting with the Danish government in order to discuss the cartoons. In a very arrogant manner, the rightist government of Anders Fogh Rasmussen refused to meet the ambassadors for a discussion that might have prevented subsequent events. In an action unheard of in the history of Danish diplomacy, 22 former Danish ambassadors publicly criticized the Prime Minister's refusal to meet with representatives of Muslim countries. They were backed by former Danish Foreign Minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, a cold warrior and rightist politician who, however, is sensible to these kinds of cultural problems. But the government stuck to its own decision. It apparently was not unhappy with the fact that the cartoons caused disunity and distracted popular attention from the social consequences of its planned "welfare reforms" that were announced last autumn. It was only when the national agenda turned into an international crisis of unprecedented dimensions that the government and the newspaper decided to take action. But even then, their arrogance prevented them from saving what could be saved. The editor of Jyllands Posten , for example, apologized to Muslims because they felt offended, but he did not apologize for publishing the offensive cartoons, because such an apology, according to him, would be a violation of his freedom of speech! In this way, the apology was not enough to end the protests and neither was the appearance of the Danish Prime Minister on Arab and Muslim television channels where he didn't deliver the message expected from him. A Reactionary Newspaper Jyllands Posten is one of Denmark's largest newspapers with a long tradition of rightist policy. In the 1930s, it was infamous for defending pro-Nazi positions. After the Second World War, it turned completely pro-NATO. During the war in Vietnam, it was a loyal ally of U.S. imperialism. Today, it is an arduous defender of the Zionist state of Israel and the imperialist occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the growing pressure on Iran, Syria and other independent countries. Jyllands Posten is considered the unofficial organ of expression of the Liberal Party of Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. As such, it is not an innocent player in the present crisis. Its defence of freedom of speech is nothing but hypocritical. During the last years, Jyllands Posten has transformed itself into a national platform of the most rabid attacks against communists and other progressive people. Even the most idiotic anti-communist professor has free access to its columns. The freedom of speech practised by the newspaper is used to distort, silence and criminalize communist and progressive ideas. The way the former socialist countries in Europe and the Danish communists who were active during the Cold War are portrayed is just as insulting as the 12 cartoons. According to legend, the Danish national flag, Dannebrog, fell ready-made down from the sky in the year 1219 during the battle of Lyndanisse where the Danish crusaders fought to Christianize the pagan Estonians. Eight hundred years later, Jyllands Posten and the ruling Danish bourgeoisie is presenting freedom of speech as a sacred, absolutist principle that, in a similar way, fell ready-made down from the sky in its present narrow-minded and intolerant Danish version. For the Danish communists, freedom of speech is a beautiful principle that takes its concrete form according to the concrete historical context and the social class that practises it. It is a necessity for the free development of individual human beings and their participation in the democratic processes of modern society. But it cannot be accepted as an unlimited right of the ruling class to insult other people and cause tension, violence, war and destruction. Freedom of speech should always be subordinated to ethics and the rules of civilized behaviour among peoples and nations. A Reactionary Government The extent of the anti-Danish protests that have swept all over the Muslim world during the last weeks has taken the Danish public by surprise. Very few expected that something like this could ever happen. For years the Danish people have been indoctrinated with the belief that they lived in the best of all worlds; that they themselves were so very tolerant and everybody else, especially the Muslim peoples, were intolerant; that their country was well-respected and their government well-intentioned and generous; that the Danish troops in Afghanistan and Iraq did a fine and humanitarian job and were well-received by the local people, etc. This lie has survived and taken root because the Danish press, in spite of its own claim to be liberal and broad-minded, has turned into one of the most controlled and regimented in Europe. This control also explains why the Danish people haven't seen what has been in the pipeline for several years. Denmark, that 20 years ago was known for its social democratic welfare system, its humanitarian assistance to the third world and its footnote policy that offered certain resistance to the most aggressive plans of NATO and U.S. imperialism, has little by little been transformed into a very reactionary country. At the international level, this has expressed itself in Denmark's subordination to U.S. imperialism and its participation in the aggressive wars against Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq. At the same time, Danish foreign "aid" is being still more conditioned by the acceptance of neo-liberal and pro-imperialist positions. And at the national level, the so-called "anti-terror" legislation, the attempts to criminalize the communists and the still more intolerant tone in the debate on immigration are just some of the expressions of a reactionary state that several times has been censured by the UN, the Council of Europe and Amnesty International for its violation of human rights. Now the Danish people are paying the price for the stupid actions of its arrogant and reactionary ruling class. Even the journalists who have been telling lies for years have, like Hitler in 1941, been caught in their own lies. They apparently believed what they wrote and said and are now just as surprised as the majority of the people. But instead of being critical of themselves and their role, they are now looking for scapegoats. And they have found these among some local Muslim imams who, admittedly, have engaged in contradictions and manipulations in order to promote their own agenda. In this situation, the arrogant answer of the government is to make a distinction between "good" and "bad" Muslims and to promote a national organization of the "good ones" while at the same time ignoring or slandering the "bad ones." This may solve a concrete problem in the concrete situation where the government is desperately trying to get some allies among Muslims, but in the long run it most certainly will add fuel to the fire. It Started More than 100 Years Ago The present crisis cannot be explained only with the cartoons and the arrogance of the Danish ruling circles, although they certainly contributed a lot. The real explanation should be found in the repeated humiliations that the Muslim peoples have suffered for more than 100 years, first under the rule of European colonialism and now in the form of joint U.S. and European imperialist domination with constant aggressions, occupations and impositions of Western imperialist interests in their countries. The Muslim reaction has been on its way for a long time. In this light, it is completely fortuitous that it was exactly Denmark and the cartoons that started the present revolt among the Muslim peoples. It would have come sooner or later. On the surface, the present revolt is taking the form of a clash between civilizations, a kind of religious war, with all the irrational fanaticism, different agendas, dangers and unclear dividing lines this brings about. But in its essence, it is an important anti-imperialist movement directed against world imperialism headed by the United States of America and with Denmark as an active and arrogant little brother. As Danish communists we greet this movement and hope that it will find still clearer and more consequent expressions. However, the fact that it has taken a religious form mixed with fanaticism and different local and regional agendas also creates confusion and secondary contradictions and makes it more complex to forge an international anti-imperialist front. The burning of Danish flags and national symbols, for example, however justified it may be, insults the national feelings of a considerable part of the Danish population and contribute in this way to the strengthening of the rightist and extremist parties. According to the latest opinion polls, the support for the extremist Danish People's Party has grown considerably during the last weeks and it is now almost catching up with the Social Democratic Party and thus becoming the second biggest party in Denmark. However, the national situation is very contradictory. Opinion polls also show that while almost 80 per cent of the population supports Jyllands Posten when it refuses to make a real apology, there is, at the same time, a growing number of people, who now constitute a little more than half the population, that understand why Muslims feel insulted by the cartoons. Spontaneous manifestations and demonstrations for tolerance and solidarity are emerging everywhere. Another positive result of the revolt in the Muslim countries is that a third of the Danish soldiers who were expected to be sent to Iraq in the near future now refuse to go. Hence, an important battle of ideas is taking place within Danish society. Position of Danish Communists The Communist Party of Denmark ML, which together with other communist forces is preparing the founding of a New Communist Party at a Unification Congress in November, is taking active part in the present class struggle and battle of ideas. Our main line of activity is the struggle for the unity of the working class and the mobilization of the local and national trade union movement against the dividing policy of the ruling bourgeoisie. At the same time, we demand that the editors of Jyllands Posten should make a clear-cut apology for printing the cartoons and that the government should follow up in such a way that it becomes absolutely clear that it repudiates the provocation. Our party is also active in the preparation for the big anti-war demonstrations on March 18, which will take place under the broad banner of withdrawing the troops from Iraq. At the same time, we are stepping up our solidarity with the Iraqi resistance movement and the Palestinian people while we are condemning the imperialist pressure and threats against Iran, Syria and other independent countries. We believe that the present crisis should be used to strengthen the anti-imperialist movement of solidarity with the oppressed peoples all over the world. Finally, we wish to say to our Muslim brothers and sisters that at the end of day we have the same enemies, world imperialism headed by the Bush administration, and that we should unite in a broad international front in order to fight this enemy number one of humanity. |
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In whose interest is the current demolition drive being carried out? Residents of Delhi have been witnessing in recent months a new kind of demolition drive, carried out with bulldozers by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) at the orders of the courts. An unusual feature of this demolition drive is that it is aimed not at the slum dwellings of the poor, but at concrete houses in middle class areas, as well as medium sized retail shops, show rooms and commercial establishments in localities designated as residential areas. The reason that is being given is that the courts have ordered MCD to strictly enforce the law governing buildings and land use in the city. However, residents of Delhi know very well that building laws and land use regulations have been violated with impunity for so many decades. Why did the courts suddenly wake up now and decide to order their enforcement? This raises the question: In whose interest have the courts issued such orders? It is essential to examine and address this question, in order for the people to understand what is really going on. The demolition drive in Delhi must be seen in the context of the vision and plans of the big bourgeoisie to transform India into a big imperialist power, and its desire to rapidly convert the existing big cities in the image of Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing, with modern world class airports, roads, hotels, shopping malls, etc. In August 2004, the Government of India created a special grant facility to support ‘public private partnership’ in urban infrastructure. In February 2005, Finance Minister Chidambaram spoke about a National Urban Renewal Mission in his budget speech, and made an initial allocation of about Rs. 100 crore. After many meetings over several months, this ‘Mission’ was formally initiated in November, 2005 – meant to assist 60 cities with investments in physical infrastructure, linked to policy changes that would facilitate a thriving urban land market. Big capitalist corporations, Indian and international, are interested in investing in urban real estate. They want to reap maximum profits from every square foot of urban land by erecting multi-storied structures – office buildings, shopping malls, housing complexes, parking lots, etc. The capitalists interested in dominating retail trade want to wipe out the medium-sized shops and showrooms. Direct control over urban land would enable the monopoly corporations to gain control over retail trade as well as other urban services. Delhi residents will recall that the first major demolitions — of slums — was carried out during the hated emerrgency regime of Indira Gandhi in 1975-76. That was the time the far flung resettlement colonies of Delhi came up. This provided huge amount of urban land developed by the workers to the capitalists. The next major action was the closure of mills, in the name of controlling "pollution", upon a court order following a petition filed by the owners of DCM. This was part of the modernisation program initiated under Rajiv Gandhi. This resulted in release of land in prime area for the DCM owners to sell for real estate development. The third major action on this front was the closure of "polluting units" in the city. All these actions have resulted in huge sufferings by the working class and the petty bourgeoisie. The current demolition spree is a continuation of the same game, except the stakes are even higher, and many sections of the so called "upper middle class and middle class" are facing the heat. In the past, the bourgeoisie made laws in the name of serving the social interest, protecting the poor working family, etc. This was part of the effort to paint a vision of a ‘socialistic pattern of society’. In reality, it was part of the political strategy at that time to develop Indian capitalism with the big business houses at the head. As a result of the stark contradiction between the stated aim and actual outcomes, laws remained only on paper and were violated in practice on a daily basis. Urban land legislation and regulation became a fertile ground for politicians and officials to collect bribes. Land use was determined by the privileged strata that had influence over state governments and municipal corporations. Today, the big bourgeoisie wants to streamline urban land laws and regulations to transform the biggest cities in its own narrow interest of achieving big power status in the world as rapidly as possible. The big bourgeoisie knows that such ‘streamlining’ will not be delivered through the "democratic process", because of the close links between the existing urban property owners and the local, city level leaders of the Congress Party and BJP. This is the reason that the judiciary has been pressed into action. In other words, the courts are acting in the interest of monopoly capitalists, Indian and international. The judiciary has passed many judegments, mostly reactionary, and a few otherwise. It is interesting fact to note that the state never implements any of the judgements that even remotely adversely affect the interests of the big monopolies. However, when the interests of the big monopolies demand, as in the present case, the state machinery acts with great zest to implement such judgements. The most rapacious capitalist and imperialist interests lie behind the current demolition drive. The working class must firmly defend the affected sections in resolutely resisting this attack. |
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People's Voice (English Fortnightly) - Web Edition |
