May Day 2001 The First of May has been an important day for the international working class since 1889 when the day was chosen to commemorate the massacre by police of striking workers in the US city of Chicago. The First of May is the day when the working class celebrates its class and power and asserts its rights as separate and irreconcilable to those of the capitalist class. In the Asia Pacific region, massive industrialisation over the last 50 years has seen the size of the working class grow by the millions. Faced with repression in many countries, it has nevertheless been able to organise and take actions to further its interests. The ability of the Asian working class to express itself on the First of May has always been conditioned by the relative strength of the political parties which represent it. During the 1970's under the dictatorship of President Marcos, Philippine workers were at the forefront of the anti dictatorship struggle and reached the peak of their power in the mid 1980's. In those days, May Day in Manila had become a massive show of force with international guests coming from countries all around the world to express unity with the Filipino comrades. In Korea, the working class had to reorganise itself after the defeats of the early post war years under a series of repressive military regimes. Notwithstanding huge losses, the workers began forming working class organisations in the 1970's and by the mid 1980's were able to start challenging the power of the military regimes. Even in the present the Korean working class continues to face massive obstacles under the economic ravages of capitalism and the repressive actions of the state. Indonesia was the country in the post was era that had the strongest organised working class of the region both at the industrial and political level. The military coup of 1965 was accompanied by a two year long massacre of the left which totally liquidated both the industrial and political organisations of the workers. While this crime set back the working class by decades, Indonesian workers nevertheless reorganised as the country went through a long period of industrialisation. By the late 1990's, the Indonesian working class was able to use its power to help in the overthrow of the Soeharto dictatorship. The post Soeharto era sees a number of political parties and workers' organizations, with May Day an important symbol of the power of workers. In the region two most populous countries, China and India, the working class is currently facing very different political climates. In India, where Communist parties have historically been strong and May Day has always been celebrated, the intensifying pressures of capitalism are nevertheless disorientating sections of the working class and leading them into the arms of reactionary nationalist parties. In China, under a climate of intensifying capitalist restructuring, workers are not only fighting back on the shopfloor but are also trying to find new forms of political organisations that will defend their interests. In Australia, while May Day was celebrated every year, it was on a weekend and not on the day itself. The year 2001 marks a turning point for the Australian working class as a number of left wing organizations, as well as militant unions and labour councils, have planned to rebuild May Day and hold political rallies on the day itself. While this process by Australian workers of using May Day to politically assert their independence as a class is just beginning and still full of contradictions, it is one necessary step in the strengthening of the Australian working class. We hope that in the future, actions on May Day will grow and be coordinated internationally around the region, as a truly international day of working class power. It is in this spirit that AAWL wishes to send solidarity greetings to all those working class organization that are planning actions on May Day and to wish success to your respective struggles. We hope that in the coming years we will strengthen our relationships and support each other in the struggles ahead. We look forward to receiving your message of greetings to be read out at May Day rallies in Australia. In solidarity Australia Asia Worker Links *** Australia Asia Worker Links PO Box 264, Fitzroy Vic 3065 Australia Tel: 61 3 9419 5045 Fax: 61 3 9416 2746 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Assn No: A1318 ABN: 82 920 590 967 -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink