>New Worker Online Digest > >Week commencing 17th November, 2000. > >1) Editorial - Arm of the single state. & No profit, no do. > >2) Lead story - Bomb blast rocks Israel. > >3) Feature article - Roger Sylvester police escape charges. > >4) International story - Cuba - "fully opimistic about the future". > >5) British news item - Students against poverty. > > >1) Editorial > >Arm of the single state. > >THE government can deny it as much as it likes, but the setting up of a >European military force is yet another step towards the creation of a >single European state. The move is a clear declaration of intent to press >ahead with the agenda for political union. > > The Tories have condemned the new force and expressed fears that the move >will undermine Europe s commitment to Nato -- especially since the forces >to be committed to the Euro-force are the same ones already committed to Nato. > > We too condemn this move, but for very different reasons to those of the >Tory party. We are opposed to Nato and the Euro-force because outfits like >these are nothing but the war machines of the imperialist world -- which we >pay for to the tune of billions of pounds every year. > > They exist to enforce the will of the world's leading transnational >companies, big banks, major oil companies, financiers, industrialists and >other sharks whenever these exploiters feel their interests are threatened. >The oppressed, the poor and those striving for social progress and >socialism are the likely targets. > > This reality is sanitized by the politicians and media prostitutes who >tell the people that their "bombmg missions" are "humanitarian" and that >their armed invasions are "peacekeeping" exercises. The new Euro-force has >been introduced as having a "peacekeeping" role. > > Certainly the creation of the European military force is to some degree a >grand political statement -- a psychological move in pushing the EU >together. But it will also have a real military role both in policing >Europe and in sustaining the occupation of parts of Yugoslavla. > > Perhaps its first "mission" should be to speed up the work of clearing >Yugoslav territory of the large numbers of unexploded cluster bombs which >Nato dropped on its last "humanitarian" visit! > > ************* >No profit, no do. > > LAST week' s climate change summit in The Hague failed to move the United >States more than an inch or two along the road to reducing carbon emissions >into the atmosphere -- a contributory factor in global warming. > > Just as it did at the Kyoto summit, the US wants to simply pay for extra >tree planting schemes to absorb some of the carbons rather than effectively >cut its huge levels of carbon emissions. > > This is not surprising. The capitalist world, and especially its most >powerful member, is driven by a system that holds profits to be everything. >Things that cannot be given a price tag and which cannot make someone a >profit simply don't count. > > This means that environmental protesters and concerned citizens around the >world are well outgunned by the powerful oil and car manufacturing lobbies. > >The Summit should have been much more successful. After all it was not >raising far-fetched demands -- the cranky views of those who dream of >returning to some pre-industrial golden age of hand looms an cottage >gardens. It was simply calling for increased efforts to make industry, >transport and energy production less polluting and less dependent on carbon >producing fuels and to reduce wastefulness. > > Even these aims are not being attained. The answer is not to simply go for >a greener world but to turn it red -- capitalism can't deliver -- >socialism, because it values people rather than profits, can bring the >changes we all need. > > ********************* > >2) Lead story > >Bomb blast rocks Israel. > >by Our Middle East Affairs correspondent > >FOUR ISRAELIS were killed and over 40 injured when a Palestinian car-bomb >devastated the centre of an Israeli coastal town on Wednesday. The blast, >which wrecked a bus in the main street of Hadera, half-way between Tel Aviv >and Haifa, came within hours of the murder of five Palestinians by Israeli >troops in Gaza. > > The blast follows a similar attack on a Zionist settlement in the Gaza >Strip which killed two Israeli settlers and wounded many more and a >murderous overnight bombardment of Gaza soon after. Four Arabs were killed >and over 120 wounded in the Israeli helicopter and gun-boat assault. > > A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak hypocritically described >the resistance attack as "barbaric" and warned that Israel would "settle >accounts" with those responsible. > > Yasser Arafat's Palestinian National Authority has denied any >responsibility for the attack which is believed to be the work of the >Islamic resistance. But tempers are rising in occupied Palestine as the >Arabs demand action to stop the Israeli terror campaign which Tel Aviv >hopes will drown the new uprising in blood. > > Earlier on Wednesday Israeli tank crews sprayed two Arab cars with >gun-fire killing a leading member of Arafat's Fateh (Nadonal Liberation >Front of Palestine) movement and four other civilians -- one a woman. Over >a hundred bullets were pumped into the cars. > > The Israelis as usual claimed the men were members of Fateh's armed >militia on their way to attack a Zionist settlement in Gaza. Fateh has >denied this emphatically but warned "Fateh will not let this crime pass. We >will direct our rifles against the Israeli soldiers". > > Fierce clashes are raging throughout occupied Palestine. The Palestinian >National Authority (PNA) security forces have been now been ordered to >defend themselves and the people against Israeli attacks. > > PNA Secretary-General Ahmed Abdel-Rahman said "Israel is waging a war in a >bid to eradicate the Palestinian National Authority...we exercise the right >of sovereignty and the right to use weapons to defend our land and people". > > Egypt, the only Arab state apart from Jordan and Mauretania to have >diplomatic relations with the Zionist entity, recalled its ambassador on >Tuesday in protest at the escalating violence of the Israeli army. US >Defence Secretary William Cohen, who is touring the region, is lobbying >Egypt to think again while confining his "mediation" to the usual pious >wringing of hands while doing nothing to rein in the Israelis, who are in >fact nothing more than an American dependency. > > Arab League chief Esmat Abdel-Magiud is urging the UN to take "immediate >steps" to send an international force to protect the Palestinian civilians >from the brutal actions of the Israeli occupation army. > > In Syria, a leading pro-government daily compared the Israelis to Nazis. >"General Ehud Barak and all the other Israeli generals have turned to Nazi >methods, as they are in the habit of destroying a village and killing >hundreds of its residents if one of their soldiers is killed there or taken >hostage". > > Even in Saudi Arabia, America's closest ally, the media is attacking >Israel and its mentor, the United States. "The savagery of Israel, which >uses all means of repression and extermination against innocent Palestinian >civilians, shows up the evil plans it has for eliminating the Palestinian >people and driving them out of their lands. > > International silence in the face of Israeli massacres cannot be continued >indefinitely and nothing justifies the international community ducking its >responsibilities," and Okaz declared. > > And this was echoed by Al Bavan from the Gulf emirate of Dubai. "America's >silence... shows an obvious support for Israel so it continues its attacks >against the Palestinian people. The US bet on Israel is a losing one and >Washington will pay a high price for its bias towards Israel if it doesn't >understand the anger of the Arabs" it said. > > ********************** > >3) Feature article > >Roger Sylvester police escape charges. > >by Caroline Colebrook > >THE CROWN Prosecution Service decided last week not to bring charges >against any of the police officers involved in the death of Roger Sylvester >on grounds of "insufficient evidence". > > Mr Sylvester's mother, Sylvia Sylvester, expressed shock but not surprise >at this decision. > > Her son was arrested in January 1999 outside his home in Tottenham. Police >originally claimed they had received a phone call reporting that he had >been seen naked outside the house "acting in an aggressive and vociferous >manner". > > Later the Metropolitan police admitted it had never received any such call. > > After his arrest, Roger Sylvester was bundled into the back of a van with >eight officers. He went in a fit man, but was dying when he emerged. > > He was detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act and taken to >nearby St Ann's Hospital. He was still handcuffed as he was examined when >he collapsed into a coma and died eight days later. > > His inquest was adjourned to allow an investigation by Essex Police under >the supervision of the Police Complaints Authority. > > The PCA was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service which decided there were >"no grounds to charge officers for manslaughter or false imprisonment >either during Mr Sylvester's detention and removal to a place of safety or >during his detention in St Ann's Hospital." > > The CPS claimed that medical opinion, lack of reasonable care and >negligence by officers were also taken into account. > > His mother said: "I'm so weak and worn out that I can hardly speak. >Nothing can describe how unbearable it is not to know how your son died." > > The case follows a long and sorry pattern of deaths in custody, especially >of black young men, where no action is taken against police because they >stick together and will not give evidence against each other. > > This is the sort of thing that was not supposed to happen any more after >the publication of the MacPherson report into how police racism and >negligence sabotaged the inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. > > Thousands of anti-racists who had hoped that report might mark a watershed >are now bitterly disappointed. The police and the CPS are protecting the >racist thugs in their ranks as before. > > The pressure group Inquest said the CPS decision shows that the lessons of >MacPherson have not been learned. > > Tottenham Labour MP David Lammy said: "If eight of us in this room, three >quarters of a football team, had pounced on any other individual, charges >would have been brought." > > Toby Harris, who chairs the Metropolitan Police Authority, said the length >of the investigation and the "inconclusive outcome" have damaged confidence >in the way the case has been handled. > > Now the inquest can proceed. > > * A police officer appeared at the Old Bailey last week charged with >racially aggravated assault after he punched a grandfather during a >domestic dispute. > > Pc Simon Wilson, of Colindale police station, was charged with the assault >on Christopher Broomes and also of interfering in the course of justice. >One of his colleagues was also charged with interfering in the course of >justice. > > ************************* > >4) International story > >Cuba - "fully opimistic about the future". > >by Theo Russell > >THE GLOBAL movement to end the US blockade against Cuba has received a huge >boost from the Second World Meeting of Friendship and Solidarity with Cuba >in Havana on 10-14th November. > > >The 4,150 delegates From 166 coutrtries met against a background of Cuba's >victory at the UN vote on the blockade, and excellent news about the state >of the Cuban economy. The US was defeated by 167 votes to 3 in the UN >General Assembly, supported only by Israel and the Marshall Islands. > > Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque arrived at the conference >straight from the UN and said that with relations with 171 countries, "US >imperialism has not been able to sever Cuba's relations with the world". > > In a detailed report on the Cuban economy, Carlos Lage, vice president of >the Council of State, said the economy had picked up since 1995 and grew >last year by 6.2 per cent. Power shortages had fallen from 14 hours a day >in 1994 to blackouts a few minutes long. > > Conditions in housing, nutrition, transportation and health had all >improved, Lage said, but were still not adequate. During the economic >crisis the minimum consumption of calories had fallen from 3,000 to 2,000 >calories a day. It has now reached 2,400. > > Lage emphasised that "State ownership predominates and will predominate >the whole economy, along with investments agreed by the state," adding >"there is not and there will never be a process of privatisation in Cuba". > > The rapid growth in tourism has been achieved because of state >investments, with state control of almost 90 per cent of accommodation. >Workers for joint enterprises in Cuba enjoy all the generous protection >enjoyed by Cuban workers as a whole. > > Lage acknowledged the problems posed by inequalities which were "opposed >by a large part of our people" adding "it is a huge and complex part of our >struggle to overcome this. But I have to tell you that we are fully >optimistic about the future of the revolution. The blockade will not be >eternal. Every day it loses prestige in the world and in the United States". > > During the conference delegates visited Committees for the Defence of the >Revolution and cultural events, and took part in a huge 'anti-imperialist >tribunal' in front of the US Interests Section in Havana. > > The conference closed with a speech by President Fidel Castro, who told >delegates that 90 per cent of the population of 11 million Cubans now has >access to electricity, compared to 50 per cent of the population of less >than seven million before the revolution. > > He said that during the special period, Cuba's enemies "thought the >revolution would die. It never occurred to them that the people had been >forged during 30 years of revolution, the many years living with a spirit >df brotherhood and solidarity and all the justice that the revolution >brought to the masses. > > Many initiatives were taken at the conference to step up the campaign >against the blockade, and it was decided to establish an International Day >of Solidarity with Cuba on 10 October; to declare 2001 the Year of >Solidarity against the Blockade; and to promote the image of Jose Marti >internationally with events throughout the world on the 150th anniversary >of his birth in 2003. > > * The New Communist Party of Britain was represented at the conference by >National Chairman Alex Kempshall and Central Committee member Thee Russell. >During their stay in Havana they also had talks with the International >Department of the Communist Party of Cuba. > > ********************* > >5) British news item > >Students against poverty. > >STUDENTS earlier this month took to the streets of Westminster in a protest >at tuition fees and the end of the grant -- forcing students to take on >huge debts to support them through their university years. > > This is pricing many young people out of higher education and forcing many >students to take on part-time jobs to keep the mounting debts to a minimum. > > The jobs leave them too exhausted to give one hundred per cent to their >studies and undermine their exam results. > > The problems are particularly acute in London where accommodation costs >have soared recently. > > Students from different universities across London last week received >eviction notices from the company that owns their hall of residence, which >is being sold. > > Cartwright Hall in Bloomsbury is being sold for a reported £20 million by >its Singapore-based owners for conversion into homes or a hotel. > > Students received the notices in some cases just days after they had >signed year-long tenancy agreements. telling them they must quit by 22 >December. > > The University of London Union is backing them in a fight for substantial >compensation while the students say they will refuse to budge if they do >not get it. > > Carli Harper-Penman, vice president of welfare at the union, said that >around 100 students signed up at Cartwright Hall at the beginning of term, >paying a deposit and a month's rent at over £100 a week. The terms of the >contracts specified a minimum residence of 30 weeks. > >three-line letter > > She said: "Some students arrived on the Sunday night and paid their >deposit and then on Monday they got a three-line letter saying they would >have to leave three days before Christmas." > > Duchess property has offered the students £500 compensation and refunds of >any fees paid. But they are being advised to reject this. Finding new >accommodation at this stage of the academic year will be very difficult. > > James Shirley, a final year student said: "I appreciate that the owners >are a commercial enterprise and that they have to look after their own >interests. But that seems to me to be going beyond the bounds. I would like >some decent compensation so that I'm not out of pocket if I have to move. > > "But my ideal situation would be to continue living here. It's important >to be close to my college in my final year." > > > ********************* > > >New Communist Party of Britain Homepage > >http://www.newcommunistparty.org.uk > >A news service for the Working Class! > >Workers of all countries Unite! > > > > > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
