Peru: 'Superman' Meets Shining Path: Story of a CIA Success - Washington Post
'Superman' Meets Shining Path: Story of a CIA Success == By Charles Lane Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday , December 7, 2000 ; Page A01 At 8:45 p.m. on Sept. 12, 1992, a special Peruvian police undercover unit captured Abimael Guzman, leader of the fanatical Maoist guerrilla group known as Shining Path, in his hideout on a quiet, middle-class street in Lima. The fall of one of the 20th century's most elusive terrorists made headlines around the world and proved decisive in a war that had cost 25,000 lives since Shining Path launched it in 1980. Many more might have died if Shining Path ever took power. It was an astonishing achievement for Peru's police. "Superman" helped too. "Superman" was the cops' nickname for a tall, dark-haired American who, they thought, resembled actor Christopher Reeve, and who served as their main contact in the Central Intelligence Agency. For months, Superman and personnel brought to Peru by the CIA had trained, equipped, financed and coached the detectives. When the cops needed cars, the CIA paid for them; when they found a Shining Path document in English, Superman translated. And when police radioed headquarters with word of Guzman's arrest, Superman was there to hear the news and join the celebration. Indeed, the U.S. government found out before Peru's then-president, Alberto Fujimori, or his intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, did. "They were very close to us," Benedicto Jimenez, who commanded the special police unit, said of the CIA, adding: "I think that without that support, it would have been a bit difficult to get where we got." Reluctant as ever to discuss its relationships with foreign services, the CIA has permitted mention of its role only in one sentence of a 1996 report on intelligence reform. The agency declined comment for this article, which is based on interviews with current and former U.S. and Peruvian officials who, for the most part, spoke on the condition that they not be identified. Helping catch Guzman, these sources concurred, was a CIA triumph. But the episode also sheds light on the agency's murky relationship with Montesinos, whose alleged corruption and human rights abuses triggered a political crisis in Peru this year that forced both him and Fujimori from power. Montesinos knew of the CIA's role in Guzman's capture. One former U.S. official said, "It could not have happened without his support." Yet others familiar with the operation said Montesinos was a marginal--or disruptive--factor. He backed a separate, secret Peruvian army intelligence unit tasked with killing the same Shining Path leaders the police were trying to arrest, according to U.S. and Peruvian officials. Publicly, Fujimori praised the CIA-trained police who caught Guzman. Behind the scenes, Montesinos saw them as disloyal and later purged them. Nevertheless, the CIA kept up its ties to Montesinos, whom it regarded as the rising power in the Fujimori government. The Idealist Troubled today, Peru was near chaos in 1990. The symptoms were corruption, hyperinflation and panic emigration, but at its root was the war with Shining Path. Founded by Guzman, a former professor whose followers worshiped him as "Presidente Gonzalo," the group shattered Peru's infrastructure and massacred villages. It controlled large parts of the countryside, including cocaine-producing regions, and was moving on Lima. Brutality by Peru's army against civilians considered sympathetic to the guerrillas created almost as much terror as Shining Path itself. Peru's National Police set up an anti-terrorism agency known by its Spanish initials, DINCOTE. But DINCOTE's efforts too were brutal and self-defeating. "Torture consisted of beatings, shock, dunking people in cold water," recalled one U.S. official who served in Lima. "Nothing real high-tech. Nothing real useful either." Some DINCOTE agents even posed as terrorists and kidnapped civilians for ransom, according to former DINCOTE officials. The situation disgusted an idealist in DINCOTE ranks, Maj. Benedicto Jimenez. The son of an Afro Peruvian father and a Greek immigrant mother, he had trained not only as a detective but also as an army commando. For two years in the late 1980s, he had worked on joint operations with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. He read Ralph Waldo Emerson and the ancient Chinese military theorist Sun Tzu. In March 1990, Jimenez asked to form a unit whose goal would be to capture the leaders of Shining Path. Jimenez proposed to accomplish this seemingly impossible task the old-fashioned way: tailing suspects, cultivating informants, poring over captured documents. Torture would be eschewed on both principled and pragmatic grounds. "Sun Tzu used to say that you have to capture the enemy alive, because he's no good to you dead," Jimenez said. Jimenez was given four agents, a tiny office and almost no budget. Most at DINCOTE were hostile or derisive. When he briefed the Peruvian
China. People´s Daily Dec 22
Extracts Friday, December 22, 2000, updated at 08:34(GMT+8) Jiang's Speech Warmly Received in Macao SAR The speech made by Chinese President Jiang Zemin at Wednesday's celebration gathering marking the first anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has aroused a warm response among local people and media who hailed it as a guideline for maintaining Macao's long-term stability and development and the implementation of the "one country, two systems" policy. Major local newspapers Thursday published the full text of Jiang's speech and reports on his visit to some historic sites in Macao and talks with local residents. In the speech, Jiang reiterated the attitude of the central government on matters concerning the Macao SAR and urged all departments and individuals throughout China to abide by the Basic Law and called on the Macao people to continue to support the chief executive in fulfilling his duties, said a commentary of the Macao Daily News. Jornal "Va Kio", (The Huaqiao Journal), commented that Jiang's visit to Macao this time has brought happiness and joy as well as encouragement and confidence. Jiang's address was full of lofty sentiments, sincere words and earnest wishes, observed Ma Man Kei, a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Vitor Ng, a member of the Macao SAR Executive Council, told Xinhua that Jiang's speech is of great importance for Macao at present and in the future and it will further consolidate the Macao people's confidence to carry out the "one country, two systems" policy, follow the Basic Law, and build a better future for the territory. Local women are completely in favor of the president for his four-point requirements, said Ho Lizhen, chairperson of the Macao Women's Federation, who pledged to carry out Jiang's instructions and make contribution in assisting the SAR government's work for a long-term stability and development in Macao. Friday, December 22, 2000, updated at 10:02(GMT+8) 2,700 Corrupt Officials Cracked Between January to November Between January and November, prosecutors cracked nearly 43,000 cases of corruption involving 2,700 officials at county and division level, recouping 3.67 billion yuan (US$442 million), according to statistics released by the Supreme People's Procuratorate Thursday, December 21. Among these cases, 1,270 involved funds of more than 1 million yuan (US$120,000), according to Friday's Chinadaily. The stern reality calls for more concerted efforts by the country's prosecutors in their campaign to track down dishonest officials next year, said Han Zhubin, procurator-general of China's Supreme People's Procuratorate, He made the remark while outlining the task facing China's 160,000 prosecutors at a national conference in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Han said prosecutors will continue their crackdown on dereliction of duty and graft by government officials. They will also investigate bribery, perverting the course of justice and extracting confessions by torture, said Han. Inquiries on bribes was previously an area not often investigated by prosecutors. Han pledged that there will be more effort to weed out corruption in the new year, following the establishment of a new department this summer to
Korean Central News Agency Dec 21
TODAY'S NEWS (December.21.2000 Juche 89) [CONTENTS] * Foreign diplomats visit museum * Protocol of 14th meeting of DPRK-Russia joint fisheries commission signed * Independent reunification of Korea called for * Wise leadership of Kim Jong Il praised * Life of Kim Jong Suk praised * Message of sympathy to Azerbaijani Prime Minister * Vigilance against U.S. new "strategy for 21st century" called for * Kim Jong Il's endless trips for on-site guidance * Okryugum * S. Korean workers stage general strike * Wreath laid before Kim Jong Suk's bust * Inter-Korean military working-level talks held For Spanish-speaking people * incesante direccion sobre terreno de gran dirigente kim jong il * hay que elevar vigilancia contra "estrategia de siglo 21" de ee.uu. Foreign diplomats visit museum Pyongyang, December 21 (KCNA) -- Diplomatic envoys of different countries and representatives of international organizations here visited the revolutionary museum of the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces yesterday on the occasion of the 9th anniversary of the great leader Kim Jong Il's election as Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and the 83rd birth anniversary of the great communist revolutionary fighter Kim Jong Suk. They looked round materials and relics on display with keen interest. At the end of the visit, Cuban ambassador Jose Manuel Inclan Embade said it is thanks to the wise leadership of the great Kim Jong Il that the Korean People's Army is demonstrating its might as revolutionary armed forces all over the world. Protocol of 14th meeting of DPRK-Russia joint fisheries commission signed Pyongyang, December 21 (KCNA) -- A protocol of the 14th meeting of the DPRK-Russia joint fisheries commission for cooperation in the field of fishing industry was signed in Pyongyang yesterday. Present at the signing ceremony were members of the DPRK delegation to the commission and members of the delegation of the National Fisheries Committee of the Russian Federation. Independent reunification of Korea called for Pyongyang, December 21 (KCNA) -- The north-south joint declaration which was published in June last is a manifesto of national independence which solemnly declared the Korean nation's will to independently open up a new era in its history, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article. Noting that national reunification is an independent cause which should be achieved by the efforts of the Korean nation, the article says: It is certain that the Korean nation who is victim to national division and desires reunification more fervently than anybody else should come out to carry out the cause of reunification, responsible for it. No outside forces should be allowed to meddle in the cause of national reunification as it is an independent one. It is a stark fact that the issue of national reunification has not been solved though half a century has passed since Korea's division chiefly because of foreign interference in the internal affairs of the Korean nation. National reunification should be achieved independently by the efforts of the Korean nation under all circumstances. Koreans can certainly pool their will and efforts to achieve independent reunification. Though the north and the south have the differing ideologies and systems, nothing is dearer to the Koreans responsible for reunification than ardent patriotism that should be placed above any ideology. Only when all the thinking and activities are based on patriotism is it possible for the north and the south to unite as one and the same nation and carve out the destiny of the nation independently. Wise leadership of Kim Jong Il praised Pyongyang, December 21 (KCNA) -- V.I. Anpilov, chairman of the executive committee of the "Working Russia" Movement, highly praised the great leader Kim Jong Il. In an interview he had with the KCNA correspondent in Moscow on Dec. 18 to mark the 9th anniversary of Kim Jong Il's election as Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, the chairman said: It is thanks to the wise leadership of Kim Jong Il that the Korean people have firmly defended socialism despite the imperialists' moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK and socialist Korea led by him is invincible. The cause of global socialism is sure to win victory under his guidance. His army-first line is the most correct one for defending the destiny of socialism in the world. Only victory and glory are in store for the Korean people faithful to his army-first revolutionary leadership. Life of Kim Jong Suk praised Pyongyang, December 21 (KCNA) -- Seminars were held by the Group for the Study of the Juche Idea of Comrade Kim Il Sung of Teachers of the Golden Grove Primary School of Guyana and the Group for the Study of the Juche Idea of Comrade Kim Il Sung of the Old Kampala Higher Middle School of Uganda on Dec
wwnews Digest #207 2/2
>cannot afford to pay $200,000 to get the degree. It should >be noted there are many ghettos, barrios, Native >reservations and rural towns in the U.S. without doctors, as >well." > >At this meeting, Castro offered 500 scholarships for >indigent students from the U.S. to go to medical school in >Cuba. > >EMPHASIS ON PREVENTIVE MEDICINE > >In the early days of the revolution, Che Guevara gave a >speech to medical students. He said: "Medicine will have to >convert itself into a science that serves to prevent disease >and orients the public toward carrying out its medical >duties. Medicine should only intervene in cases of extreme >urgency, to perform surgery or something else that lies >outside the skills of the people of the new society we are >creating... > >"The work of the Ministry of Health is to provide public >health services to the greatest possible number of people >and to institute a program of preventative medicine and >hygienic practices..." > >The people of Cuba have put these words into practice--and >not only in Cuba. They have sent thousands of doctors to >Latin American and Africa and are training new health-care >workers from those countries to help them develop modern, >comprehensive health-care programs. This effort is based on >Cuba's invaluable experience in building a revolutionary >socialist health-care system. > >The writer visited the Latin American School of Medicine in >November as a delegate to the Second World Meeting >of Friendship and Solidarity with Cuba. > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > > > >Message-ID: <007701c06ba9$f0aba640$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Korean workers fight mass layoffs >Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 18:58:39 -0500 >Content-Type: text/plain; >charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Dec. 28, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >- > >KOREAN WORKERS FIGHT MASS LAYOFFS > >By Deirdre Griswold > >Workers in south Korea are fighting mass layoffs in >industries owned or regulated by the government. > >The 47,000 union members at Korea Telecom went on strike >Dec. 18 over government plans to fully privatize the >telephone industry and cut 3,000 jobs. The south Korean >government currently owns 51 percent of Korea Telecom. The >remainder is split between domestic and foreign investors. > >During the 1997-1998 economic crisis, Korea Telecom laid off >12,000 workers. Other industries also laid off hundreds of >thousands of workers. > >Although the unions at first resisted the massive layoffs of >that period, they eventually agreed to them under the threat >that the economy would collapse without loans from the >International Monetary Fund. The layoffs were part of the >IMF's loan conditions. > >Other sectors of the economy are also in turmoil because of >aggressive downsizing by the liberal government of President >Kim Dae-jung. > >Bank workers are to launch a general strike on Dec. 22 in >protest over a government-led reorganization of the banking >industry that unions say will lead to branch closings and >layoffs. > >First to walk out will be employees of Kookmin Bank and >Housing & Commercial Bank. These two firms are slated to >merge soon in an agreement pushed by the government that >unions say violates an accord reached on July 11. > >On Dec. 28 workers at other banking houses will hit the >bricks, for a total of 24,000 bank workers on the picket >lines. The strike is being called by the Korea Financial >Industry Union, an umbrella organization that encompasses 23 >labor unions. KFIU leader Lee Yong-deuk says the strike will >start as planned unless the government scraps the merger >between Kookmin and H&CB. > >This heightened class struggle takes place at the same time >that the government of south Korea is in negotiations with >the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north over >measures to expand contacts between the two sides of the >divided nation. The south has been occupied by U.S. troops >since World War II. > >Under its hated National Security Laws, south Korea still >forbids any travel to the socialist north without government >authorization. On Dec. 9, several thousand workers and >students held a rally in Seoul calling for an end to the >repressive laws, which punish even the possession of Marxist >literature with long prison terms. > >The workers and students fought with riot police who tried >to keep them bottled up in a park. They succeeded in >marching through the downtown area. > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and
wwnews Digest #207 1/2
>WW News Service Digest #207 > > 1) J20 gains momentum and media attention >by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 2) Unions endorse SF counter-inaugural >by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 3) Forum warns of growing war in Colombia >by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 4) Cuba trains doctors for the world >by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 5) Korean workers fight mass layoffs >by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 6) NY transit workers choose New Directions >by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 7) Seattle newspaper strikers rally public support >by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 8) Cooking Scrooge's goose >by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Dec. 28, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >- > >EVERY PROTESTER COUNTS: J20 GAINS MOMENTUM AND MEDIA ATTENTION > >By Elijah Crane > >Scores of activists from all over the country are mobilizing >to fill the streets of Washington by the busload on Jan. 20 >to protest George W. Bush's inauguration. > >The all-encompassing issue at hand is the fight against >racism. Specific demands of protesters include: ending the >racist death penalty and freeing Mumia Abu-Jamal; stopping >Plan Colombia and the U.S. bombing of Vieques; supporting >the just struggle of the Palestinian people; the >disenfranchisement of Black voters and others in Florida; >and many others. > >"The U.S. ruling class has been caught in the act of a >fraudulent election," said Monica Moorehead, a leading >organizer of the demonstration. "This certainly is not the >first time it has happened. Every election that has taken >place in the U.S. has been bought or stolen. But this is the >first time in recent history that the thievery has been so >blatant and overt. > >"There's no denying that thousands of Black voters in >Florida were the targets of a racist attack," Moorehead told >Workers World. "Despite the fact that Florida's ballot >controversy had been headlining the media since Election >Day, neither of the two presidential hopefuls so much as >acknowledged the issue of racism. > >"And no amount of rhetoric on 'healing' and 'bipartisanship' >from President-elect Bush and Al Gore, who conceded, can >smooth things over now." > >People are angry--from Texas to Florida, from New York to >California--and that is why they will be raising their >voices in Washington at the inauguration protest, she added. > >J20 DRAWS MEDIA ATTENTION > >Over 400 groups and individuals have already endorsed the >call made by the International Action Center to protest in >Washington on Jan. 20, or 'J20', as some activists are >referring to it. That number continues to grow on a daily >basis. > >As of Dec. 20, there were more than 30 organizing centers in >operation in New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, >Illinois, North Carolina and elsewhere. > >Even the mainstream media has been forced to recognize this >growing mobilization, resulting in articles and radio >interviews with organizers. > >An article in the Dec. 14 edition of the Washington Times >described the way in which the cops are preparing for the >upcoming counter-inaugural demonstration. Police Chief >Charles Ramsey cited last April's protests against the >International Monetary Fund, which shook the city of >Washington, as a reason for deploying not only the entire >Metropolitan police force, but also adding hundreds of cops >from surrounding areas. > >Brain Becker, co-director of the IAC, was quoted as saying >that "Charles Ramsey and the police are doing their usual >demonizing of the demonstrators, saying that we will cause >mayhem. The truth is that the police is the lawless group." > >Becker has since given numerous radio interviews, including >one to the ABC network. Organizers of the J20 action have >also been interviewed by radio stations in Michigan, New >York and Washington. > >The Colorado Daily newspaper was among the media that >highlighted the planned J20 action. In that article, Becker >explained that the protest was in the works long before the >election outcome was known. It was planned to take place >regardless of whether Gore or Bush were inaugurated because >both are strong supporters of the death penalty and other >methods of institutional violence--such as the U.S. >sanctions against Iraq and military aid to Colombia, he >said. > >For a complete list of organizing centers, or to sign up as a contact, >readers can visit the Web site www.Mumia2000.org or call the IAC at (212) >633-6646. > >Organizers are also planning and communicating through an e-mail >list server called "J20action." Anyone interested in participating in that >ongoing discussion can register at www.egroups.com or click on the link at >www.Mumia2000.org. > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY
Havana Radio news/views Dec 19-20. Cuban economy
>X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Unverified) >Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit >Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 19 December 2000 > . > >*ANALYSIS OF VLADIMIR PUTIN'S VISIT TO CUBA > >*HARRY BELAFONTE AWARDED HONORARY DOCTORATE > >*PIANIST CHUCHO VALDES HONORED BY NEW ORLEANS > >*NATIONAL BALLET COMPANY RETURNS FROM SUCCESSFUL TOUR OF SPAIN > >*BURUNDI MINISTER FOR FOREIGN RELATIONS ENDS VISIT TO CUBA > >*CUBAN PARLIAMENT GEARS UP FOR ORDINARY SESSIONS ON THURSDAY > >*Viewpoint: CUBA'S ECONOMY CONTINUES TO IMPROVE > . > >*ANALYSIS OF VLADIMIR PUTIN'S VISIT TO CUBA > >Havana, December 19 (RHC)-- A roundtable discussion, broadcast live >on Cuban radio and television Monday evening, examined the recent >visit to Cuba by Russian President Vladimir Putting. > >A panel consisting of Cuban journalists and experts on >international affairs took a look at the historic visit -- the first >by a Russian president since the disintegration of the Soviet Union >ten years ago. It was noted that Vladimir Putting took the >opportunity to invite his Cuban counterpart to visit Russia, which >was gratefully accepted by the Cuban president. > >Following the roundtable discussion, an important interview granted >by Fidel to the ITER-TASS News Agency was aired. During the >interview, the leader of the Cuban Revolution answered questions put >to him by Russian journalists and touched on issues regarding the >international situation. The Cuban leader reflected on the role that >Russia could play in helping to fight against a univocal world. He >also analyzed the importance of bilateral relations between Havana >and Moscow and the relationship between the people of both nations. > >Monday evening's roundtable discussion was broadcast live on >Cuban radio and television, as well as the international short- >wave frequencies of Radio Havana Cuba. > > *HARRY BELAFONTE AWARDED HONORARY DOCTORATE > >Havana, December 19 (RHC)-- Cuba's Higher Arts Institute awarded >U.S. singer Harry Belafonte, Monday in Havana the Honorary Doctorate >of Arts Degree. > >During the ceremony, Harry Belafonte said that Cuba has always been >an artistic haven for people who struggle for the liberation of >humanity. The President of the Cuban Parliament Ricardo Aaron and >Minister of Culture, Abel Prieto attended the ceremony in honor of >the renowned U.S. artist, who traveled to the island to participate >in the recently concluded International Film Festival of New Latin >American Cinema and The International Jazz Festival. > > *PIANIST CHUCHO VALDES HONORED BY NEW ORLEANS > >Havana, December 19 (RHC)-- Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes was given >the Honorary Guest distinction by the New Orleans Mayor's office >during the recently concluded International Jazz Festival "Jazz Plaza >2000." In statements to journalists on Monday in Havana, the Cuban >musician expressed his satisfaction about the Jazz Festival, which >had the participation of prestigious artists from all over the world. > >This year's International Jazz Festival was dedicated to >legendary U.S. musician Louis Armstrong. > > *NATIONAL BALLET COMPANY RETURNS FROM SUCCESSFUL TOUR OF SPAIN > >Havana, December 19 (RHC)-- Cuba's National Ballet Company, >directed by the island's prima ballerina, Alicia Alonso has returned >from a two month Spanish tour which was identified as one of the most >productive so far. > >In statements to journalists, Monday in Havana, Alicia >Alonso explained the troupe's tour and signaled the 12 performances >in Valencia, as historic. > >The Cuban National Ballet will perform at the Garcia Lorca >Theater this year. They are scheduled to perform in various countries >in the coming year. > > *BURUNDI MINISTER FOR FOREIGN RELATIONS ENDS VISIT TO CUBA > >Havana, December 19 (RHC)-- Burundi's Minister for Foreign >Relations and Cooperation, Severin Ntajomuvukyle has wound up his >visit to Cuba, which he characterized as impressive. > >Before his departure the African leader met with Cuba's >Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta Lomas where both >sides signed important agreements. > >Cuba's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque thanked the >Burundian official for his country's support of Cuba in different >international forums, especially its vote condemning Washington's >blockade against the island during the UN General Assembly. > > *CUBAN PARLIAMENT GEARS UP FOR ORDINARY SESSIONS ON THURSDAY > >Havana, December 19 (RHC)-- Cuban ministers and officials >from different institutions will present their annual reports to >the National Assembly before Thursday's first day of >parliamentary sessions. > >Cuba's Central Bank, the Physical Planning Institute, and the >Ministry of Computer Science and Communications will begin with their >annual report. > >During last Sunday and Monday, the ten permanent parliamentary >work commissions met and reported on their year's work and listened >to interventions from heads of governmental organizations. > >The six ordinary
Stalin
>From: New Worker Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >On the hundred and twenty first anniversary of Stalin's birth ANDY BROOKS >takes a brief overview of his life and achievements > >THE TWENTIETH century was one of great upheavals, world wars and >revolutions. It was the century of great revolutionary changes; popular >movements inevitably linked with the leaders thrown up by their times -- >Lenin, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Kim II Sung, Ho Chi Minh and Fidel Castro. It >was the century in which the ideas of Marx and Engels were put into >practice, the century when torch of the Paris Commune lit the flames of >revolution across the globe. > > The memory of all these leaders is subjected to denigration and abuse by >the hired hands of the bourgeois media and academic world. The unholy >alliance of bourgeois politicians, social democrats, Trotskyites and >revisionists stoke fires of their own every day to produce a seemingly >endless torrent of lies about the great revolutions that shook the world >and the people who led them. The name of Joseph Stalin heads the list. > > >colossal achievements > > Their hatred of Stalin should not surprise us. He led the world's first >socialist state from 1924 until his death in 1953. During those decades the >Soviet Union was the hope of working people across the world. > > The colossal achievements of the Soviet Union led by Stalin was living >proof of the validity of the socialist system. The Soviets swept out the >capitalists and land-owners and unleashed the immense potential of the >workers and peasants to build a new life for themselves. > > While the economies of the imperialist world crashed the people of the >Soviet Union saw their living standards rise twelvefold. While the >imperialists prepared for another world war, against themselves and >eventually against the USSR, the Soviet Union worked tirelessly for >collective security and peace. > > While the imperialists mercilessly plundered Africa and Asia the Soviet >Union helped the world communist cause and the national liberation movement. > > The oppressed nations or the Czarist empire were freed and lived as equals >in a Union of Soviet Socialist Republics which guaranteed everyone work, >education, science and culture. The socialist system created new men and >women who rebuilt the country after the destruction of the Civil War; who >struggled to create the industries needed for the future; who sacrificed >themselves by the millions to defend the Soviet Union and defeat fascism in >the Second World War. > > >early days > > Joseph Vissarionovich Djugashvili was born on 21 December 1879 in the >town of Gori in the Czarist province of Georgia. He came from humble >origins. His father was a peasant who later worked in a shoe factory in the >Georgian capital, Tbilisi. His mother came from a peasant family. Neither >could read or write. > > But Joseph Vissarionovich was brilliant at primary school. He was >recommended for admission into the leading school in Georgia which was run >by the Georgian Orthodox church. > > The Tbilisi Seminary was a centre for Georgian nationalism and >opposition to the Czar's regime. Here the young man turned to Marxism and >revolution. > > "My parents were uneducated, but they did not treat me badly by any >means. But it was a different matter at the Orthodox theological seminary >which I was then attending. In protest at the outrageous regime and the >Jesuitical methods prevalent at the seminary, I was ready to become, and >actually did become, a revolutionary, a believer in Marxism as a really >revolutionary teaching," he said later. > > In his second year at the seminary, when Stalin was just 15, he made >contact with underground Marxist circles. Three years later, in 1897, he >joined the first socialist organisation in Georgia. Stalin started by >setting up Marxist study groups for students and workers. In 1899 he was >expelled and became a full-time revolutionary worker. > > He called hirnself "Stalin" -- meaning "Steel" in Russian -- most >Bolsheviks adopted movement names to work underground. > > The Caucasus was seething with discontent. The Georgians and other >peoples of the region were doubly oppressed by the Russian colonial and >largely feudal administration and the Russian and local exploiters who were >plundering the new industries in the province. Tbilisi was an >administrative and railway centre serving the oil-town of Baku, on the >Caspian Sea. > > Stalin plunged into militant revolutionary activity. In 1901 he was >elected to the first Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour >Party. He organised illegal strikes. He was sent to Siberia many times, >escaping twice to return to the Caucasus. > > In 1905 Stalin first met Lenin at the Bolshevik Congress in Czarist >Finland. In 1912 at the Prague Conference which led to the final break >between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks within the Russian Social-Democratic >Labour Party, Stalin was chosen to
USA. URGENT PELTIER ACTION!
>l >From: "LPDC" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: URGENT PELTIER ACTION! > >202-456- WHITE HOUSE COMMENT LINE > >EXTREMELY URGENT PELTIER ACTION: > >GOVERNOR JANKLOW OF SOUTH DAKOTA MET WITH PRESIDENT CLINTON TO OPPOSE >CLEMENCY FOR PELTIER > >WHITE HOUSE REPORTS THAT CLINTON FOUND JANKLOW TO BE A RELIABLE SOURCE > >JANKLOW IS KNOWN AS A MODERN DAY "INDIAN FIGHTER" AND FOR THE FOLLOWING >STATEMENT MADE IN THE EARLY 1970's: > >"THE ONLY WAY TO DEAL WITH THE INDIAN PROBLEM IN SOUTH DAKOTA IS TO PUT A >GUN TO THE AIM LEADERS' HEADS AND PUTLL THE TRIGGER." > >FLOOD THE WHITE HOUSE WITH CALLS IN OPPOSITION TO JANKLOW'S STANCE ON >CLEMENCY!!! HERE ARE SOME TALKING POINTS: > >1. I am calling to express my outrage with Governor Janklow's meeting with >President Clinton, opposing clemency for Leonard Peltier. >2. According to the LA Times, the President found Governor Janklow to be a >"credible important point of view" >3. Janklow has a long standing reputation as being anti-Indian. In fact, >Janklow is well known for his comment, "the only way to deal with the Indian >problem in South Dakota is to put a gun to the AIM leaders' heads and pull >the trigger." >4. Janklow was condemned by the United States Commission on Civil Rights for >spreading misinformation to the media and public about the shoot-out. Most >of what he reported was found to be totally false. He is not a reliable or >a neutral source. >5. The tribal council of the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota Nation has >consistently supported clemency for Peltier. The president elect, John >Yellow Bird Steele, and President Salway have written the president in >support of clemency. These are the truly credible and important points of >view which should be taken into account. >6. I want to encourage the President to base his decision on the merits of >Peltier's case, which fully justify clemency, and not on the biased >misinformation of Janklow. > > >NOTE: We do not know if Pres. Clinton is truly leaning toward a denial. >According to an interview he did last night with Dan Rather, he has not yet >made up his mind. DO NOT give up hope! Please keep up all of your great >work. Let's reach out to as many as possible to broaden our base for the >phone call campaign. Thank you! --LPDC > >Clemency for Peltier Likely to Fail > Pleas: Clinton is leaning toward rejecting a pardon for the killer of two >FBI agents, officials say. Case underscores the rift between the president >and Freeh. > > >By ERIC LICHTBLAU, Times Staff Writer > > > WASHINGTON--President Clinton appears ready to reject convicted killer >Leonard Peltier's bid for clemency, but the debate over the Native American >activist's future has inflamed already tense relations between the White >House and FBI Director Louis J. Freeh, officials said Wednesday. > Freeh has been lobbying hard for Clinton to reject pleas from >Hollywood, >Native American groups and civil rights leaders for a pardon for Peltier, >who >is imprisoned for the murders of two FBI agents on a South Dakota Indian >reservation in 1975. > But White House sources said that Clinton is leaning strongly toward >rejecting the clemency request within the next week or so--not because of >Freeh's recommendation but in part on the basis of information from others >familiar with the case. > Native Americans said they remain confident that Peltier will be freed >because he is an innocent man. > > Friend Sees Defeat Setting Back Relations > Ernie Stevens Jr., a close friend of Peltier who is on the executive >committee of the National Congress of American Indians, said that pardoning >Peltier would remove a "black eye in an ugly era" that many Native Americans >hope to move past. If Clinton rejects that bid, "I think it really sets us >back in tribal-United States relations," said Stevens, who lives in >Temecula, >Calif. > In fact, Clinton and White House staff members were so unimpressed by >Freeh's recommendation--and the manner in which it was leaked to >congressional Republicans--that the advice has been virtually discarded, >according to a senior White House official familiar with the clemency >discussions. > "Freeh's credibility on this issue is not particularly high and his >ability to sway the president is not particularly high," said the official, >who asked not to be identified by name. "The manner in which [Freeh] offered >his advice, by leaking it through [Capitol Hill] rather than by even >bothering to send it over here to the White House, was just small-minded." > An FBI spokesman denied the White House version of events, saying that >Freeh's recommendation on clemency was hand-delivered to the White House on >Dec. 5. > But the fact that Clinton and Freeh have had trouble working together >on >an issue as fundamental as a presidential pardon indicates that, in the >closing weeks of the administration, relations between the two are even more >fractured than many realized. > The ten
Solidarity with the Turkish people
> >From: "Bill Howard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Solidarity with the Turkish people [STOPNATO.ORG.UK] >Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 23:59:49 - >Solidarity with Turkish people and youth >From Communist Youth of Greece, 22/12/00 12:01:25 >Athens, December 21, 2000 > >Press release of KNE > >Solidarity with the Turkish people > >KNE denounces in the most vehement way the murderous attack of the Turkish >repression forces that led in the assassination of lots of political >prisoners. It denounces the more general authoritarian and anti-democratic >decline of the Turkish regime, which receives the all-sided support of the >American and European imperialists. > >These developments constitute the natural evolution of the "European >course" of >Turkey, that was recently reconfirmed once more, in a period that the >construction of >the European Union becomes more reactionary day by day. >The German - inspired origin of the so-called "white cells", does not leave >the smallest doubt on this very fact. >The Government of PASOK, the same government that handed over Ochalan and >opened the way to NATO in the Balkans, bears serious responsibilities >because it supported this "European course" on the name of the false >"Greek- Turkish rapprochement". > >KNE calls upon the youth and its mass structures to express their >solidarity with the struggle of the Turkish people and youth ; to demand >the freeing of all political prisoners, the restoration of the democratic >rights and freedoms. To further strengthen the solidarity and common >struggle with the Turkish youth and people against the "new order". > >KNE invites the youth to participate massively in the demonstration that is >going >to be held on Friday, December 22 in Athens > >Athens, December 20, 2000 >The press bureau of the CC of KNE > >KNE >Communist Youth of Greece >11, Kotopouli str - Athens 10432 >tel: +301-5282523 / fax: +301-5241526 >http://www.forthnet.gr/kne-odigitis/ > >Back > > >__ >To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ___ 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 geopolitics. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___
Critique of "New Economy"
- Original Message - From: Charles Brown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2000 4:36 PM Subject: [CrashList] Critique of "New Economy" NY Times, December 21, 2000 An Author Savagely Indicts Notions of a New Economy By JOHN SCHWARTZ CHICAGO - The telephone rings. It does not chirp or beep, it rings - an actual clapper strikes brass bells and the 1940's Bakelite body shudders - like a voice from another time, like a wake-up call. Thomas Frank answers. He has been waiting, here in his home office in the Hyde Park neighborhood. On the other end of the line is an interviewer from a National Public Radio station at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, ready to fill an hour with a phone-in discussion of Mr. Frank's new book, "One Market, Under God: Extreme Capitalism, Market Populism and the End of Economic Democracy" (Doubleday). In a sweeping, savage and witty indictment of American business, Mr. Frank, 35, slams the notion that the 1990's lived up to the promise of the new economy - a sensibility summed up by commercials for WorldCom that ask, "Is this a great time, or what?" Mr. Frank argues that the answer is "or what." Behind the go-go stock market and the feel-good atmosphere, he says, the American economy that bloomed in the 1990's is sick: the divide between rich and poor has widened, he insists, and mechanisms like government regulation and unions that traditionally protected underdogs have been hobbled. Mergers and globalization, meanwhile, are homogenizing the world into one big Wal-Mart. Yet, he says, Americans have been sold the notion that the pixie-dust prosperity has touched almost everyone. His timing could not be better: Mr. Frank is riding a nascent wave of antibusiness resentment that shows itself in everything from consumer complaints about health maintenance organizations to trashed Starbucks stores during last year's World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle. Vice President Al Gore knew the sentiment was there when he attacked "big tobacco, big oil, the big polluters, the pharmaceutical companies, the H.M.O.'s." And even Business Week asked on its Sept. 11 cover: "Too Much Corporate Power?" "One Market, Under God" vivisects the libertarian manifestoes, management how-to books, academic gobbledygook, advertisements and finance-oriented cable networks to describe Mr. Frank's key bête noire: market populism. This phrase, Mr. Frank argues, captures a new genre of spin that turns traditional populism on its head. Instead of the classic populist stance on behalf of the little guy, market populism hijacks the power-to-the-people language to glorify capitalism and its biggest winners. Yeoman farmer, make way for the Foosball-playing high-technology chief executive, courtesy of evangelists like George Gilder, the former Reagan administration icon turned tech cheerleader; Tom Peters, the management guru; Walter Wriston, once the chief executive of Citicorp; and the creators of the Motley Fool stock-pickers Web site. Mr. Frank has been laying out elements of this argument for some time in his obscure magazine, The Baffler, and in earlier books, including "Commodify Your Dissent (W. W. Norton, 1997). But "One Market, Under God," published in November, is his manifesto. He attacks business pretensions, not with the cruel streak of Michael Moore in his films or the studied folksiness of Jim Hightower on radio, but with a cool, ironic wit that evokes the line of Elvis Costello, the rock star, who sang, "Oh, I used to be disgusted/And now I try to be amused." As he sits through the radio interview, elbows propped on his aged oak desk and head resting on his hands, Mr. Frank gives his spiel, its freshness faded by repetition over the course of a grueling book tour. He has returned just the night before from a California swing. But he limbers mentally as he speaks, his voice almost preppy and slightly nasal, holding up his part of the disembodied conversation, the anger rising. The sentences build and flow with the fluidity of hot jazz and the urgency of hard rock, one thought after another tumbling out. With the business boom on the Internet, he says: "A lot of business thinkers thought they had happened onto a kind of Golden Age, onto a new world. There's a business magazine out there calling itself Business 2.0, as if all of, all of history was, like, version 1.3, 1.4, that sort of thing - and then now we've turned this Grand Corner, and market populism is kind of the expression of that feeling, of business at its most righteous, and at its most self-confident, and most willing to take on its enemies and, and shout them down if you will." Full article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/21/business/21ANTI.html ___ Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist
Missile Defense: A special relationship under fire [STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
- Original Message - From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2000 6:12 PM Subject: Missile Defense: A special relationship under fire [STOPNATO.ORG.UK] STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- ListBot Sponsor -- Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb -- A special relationship under fire from missile defence http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,414101,00.html === + = A special relationship under fire from missile defence -- Bush's interest in military technology may force Britain to make a stand by Hugo Young Thursday December 21, 2000 There's a man in Downing Street, close to Tony Blair, who is rather keen on NMD, the national missile defence system which George W Bush has said he will deploy. He believes there will soon be so many loose missiles in rogue states that appropriate counter-missiles may be essential. His voice won't be decisive. Most official British opinion is strongly, if discreetly, opposed to NMD. But a straw flutters in the wind. An accommodation is possibly being prepared. What Bush proposes and Colin Powell disposes, Tony Blair may decide he cannot oppose. Not far over the horizon, the ground is opening up for the most awkward struggle in the modern history of Anglo-American relations. General Powell upped the ante on Monday, his first outing as Bush's secretary-of-state designate. The ambiguities of the Clinton attitude to NMD are already being dispelled. "We're going to go forward," Powell firmly said. There would be tough negotiations with those countries that "don't yet understand our thinking with respect to national missile defence". The thinking is very committed.Bush made that clear several times in the election campaign. Powell, though once listed as a Pentagon man who feared NMD would take money away from more treasured military ventures, is now the voice of an opposite decision already made in principle. His statement coincided with another. A CIA study-project, making an assessment of the next 15 years, asserts that the threat to the mainland US from nuclear missiles, among other weapons, is greater than it was for most of the cold war. This will, the CIA thinks, get worse. Terrorists and rogue states will have the power and motivation to launch attacks that produce "mass casualties". This wasn't said to justify NMD. But it nourishes the mind-set that is demanding a new $60bn defence programme, irrespective of what might happen in the rogue states in question. Both North Korea and Iran arguably show reason for mild optimism. Iraq could soon be the solitary credible danger. No matter. No matter, either, that Russia, with whom the US has an anti-ballistic missile treaty, is fiercely opposed. Russia no longer matters, argues Richard Perle, a close Bush associate. The lead-time to build NMD is long, the world is usually changing for the worse, and the Washington voices prepared to speak up against unilateral defence may soon be hard to hear. At present, Downing Street professes to be quite comfortable. Blair got Clinton and Russian president Putin talking about NMD. He wants to be, as ever, the contact man, mediator, bridge. Since the election, his people have talked to Powell and, at greater length, to Condoleezza Rice, Bush's new national security adviser. The talks have apparently been more reassuring than Powell's public statement. Rice vowed to proceed with caution, sensitive to allied worries. Maybe she will. These advisers matter hugely. Bush's personal contribution to all complicated subjects will be far less creative than Clinton's. He will be heavily adviser-dependent. Rice says she is interested in sea-based defence missiles aimed to hit rogues at the point of launch, rather than the scheme Clinton half-backed which depended on the hit being made in space. The work required to switch schemes would be massive. But a boost-phase system would at least not depend on British and Danish tracking stations. As presently conceived, NMD proposes a new hi-tech skyscraper on Fylingdales moor, a pro
Georgia Envisages Joining NATO By 2004 [STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
- Original Message - From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2000 1:51 AM Subject: Georgia Envisages Joining NATO By 2004 [STOPNATO.ORG.UK] STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK === ListBot Sponsor == Make FREE long-distance calls with Tellme! Just dial 1-800-555-TELL. http://www.tellme.com/signin/register.gsp?src=engage&i=22 == http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2-tca.html Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty December 19, 2000 GEORGIA ENVISAGES JOINING NATO BY 2004 Summarizing a recent conference in Tbilisi on security in the South Caucasus jointly organized by NATO and the Georgian Foreign Ministry, Shevardnadze told journalists on 18 December he believes Georgia could be admitted to NATO within three or four years, ITAR-TASS reported. He admitted that at present the Georgian armed forces do not meet the alliance's standards and requirements. Also on 18 December, Iranian state radio criticized the Tbilisi conference as another step by NATO to expand its influence in the South Caucasus. LF __ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Solidarity with the Turkish people
Solidarity with Turkish people and youth >From Communist Youth of Greece, 22/12/00 12:01:25 [En Español] [Em Português] [En Français] [In Italiano] [Auf Deutsch] [??-??] Athens, December 21, 2000 Press release of KNE Solidarity with the Turkish people KNE denounces in the most vehement way the murderous attack of the Turkish repression forces that led in the assassination of lots of political prisoners. It denounces the more general authoritarian and anti-democratic decline of the Turkish regime, which receives the all-sided support of the American and European imperialists. These developments constitute the natural evolution of the "European course" of Turkey, that was recently reconfirmed once more, in a period that the construction of the European Union becomes more reactionary day by day. The German - inspired origin of the so-called "white cells", does not leave the smallest doubt on this very fact. The Government of PASOK, the same government that handed over Ochalan and opened the way to NATO in the Balkans, bears serious responsibilities because it supported this "European course" on the name of the false "Greek- Turkish rapprochement". KNE calls upon the youth and its mass structures to express their solidarity with the struggle of the Turkish people and youth ; to demand the freeing of all political prisoners, the restoration of the democratic rights and freedoms. To further strengthen the solidarity and common struggle with the Turkish youth and people against the "new order". KNE invites the youth to participate massively in the demonstration that is going to be held on Friday, December 22 in Athens Athens, December 20, 2000 The press bureau of the CC of KNE KNE Communist Youth of Greece 11, Kotopouli str - Athens 10432 tel: +301-5282523 / fax: +301-5241526 http://www.forthnet.gr/kne-odigitis/ Back
New Worker Online Digest - 22/12/2000
>New Worker Online Digest > >Week commencing 22nd December, 2000. > >1) Editorial - Hollow victory. > >2) Lead story - Turkish protesters seize London Eye. > >3) Feature article - Hague insults Damilola family. > >4) International story - Mid-East talks while Palestine burns. > >5) British news item - A bleak new year for industry and jobs. > > >1) Editorial > >Hollow victory. > >JUST over a decade ago the tycoons, big bankers, transnational bosses and >all the other exploiters of the capitalist world were busy writing epitaphs >for socialism and rejoicing at what they claimed was the death of communism. > > The destruction of the Berlin Wall was celebrated, the collapse of Soviet >state power was cheered and the new opportunities for imperialism were >welcomed as the dawning of a new age -- the "New World Order" being the >chosen term for the ensuing scramble for new markets, cheap raw materials >and the plundering of assets. > > The capitalist world, deep in crisis, had indeed found a breathing space >and the military might of imperialism had found itself free from the >restraints applied by the old balance of power. > > And yet, the monster of imperialism knew even as it rejoiced that >socialism was not dead -- it flourished in Democratic Korea, China, >Vietnam, Laos and Cuba - they knew that the struggle of oppressed peoples >the world over would continue. The class struggle, even in the heart of the >capitalist world, could not end while capitalism existed. > > Some communist parties did indeed crumble into dust or transformed >themselves into social democratic white elephants. But those which made, or >had already made, a clean break with revisionist treachery -- the key that >opened ihe door to counter-revolution in the former Soviet Union -- >survived, strengthened by all that had been learnt. > > In the last ten years, the actions of rampant imperialism may not have >been answered by the restraining hand of Soviet power. But criminal acts >such as the carpet bombing of Iraq, and later the round-the-clock bombing >of Yugoslavia, were certainly answered by mass protests across the world >and a new spirit of anti-imperialist solidarity. > > Oppressed peoples are on their feet and fighting back. The people of >Palestine are demanding justice and the crimes committed against them by >the Zionists and their imperialist backers have sparked demonstrations by >millions. > > For example, just a few weeks ago huge crowds gathered in West Bengal >where an effigy of Clinton was set on fire. Millions of protesters have >turned out in every continent and pressure is so strong in the Arab world >that governments are being forced to listen. And United States, British and >Israeli embassies have been targets of protest. > > In South America the popular movements against repression, exploitation >and landlordism have gathered strength and impetus. In Columbia the growing >support for FARC has wiped the gleeful smile off the faces of power in >Washington and replaced it with a frown of anxiety. > > Poverty in the developing world is increasingly being seen for what it is >-- a product of capitalism. A growing number of young, and not so young, >people no longer think the answer to poverty is charity. Now they are >demonstrating outside the meetings of the World Trade Organisation >demanding imperialist trade stitch-ups are ended and calling for third >world debts to be cancelled. > > In Britain, despite the dominant position of the right-wing in the Labour >Party and much of the labour movement, the growing discontent over rail >privatisation is gathering momentum. No one doubts that a majority of >people want to see the railways renationalised. The strength of feeling on >this issue has already had an effect on the government's thinking about the >future of London Underground. > > Pensioners' protests too have been so sustained and vociferous that >neither of the big parties can ignore the issue. The pensioners have not >yet won their main demand -- to restore the link between pensions and >average male earnings -- but they have made it clear they are not going to >stop fighting until they win. > > Car workers hit by the threat of unemployment, as the first tremors of a >new recession are lit, have not taken the news lying down. Last week they >stormed the British head office of General Motors and this has been >followed by a protest march through Luton. > > The imperialists who trumpeted victory a decade ago are certainly having >to deal with a pretty lively corpse! And it is the workers and masses of >the world who can 1 look to the New Year with optimism and new energy. > > * > >2) Lead story > >Turkish protesters seize London Eye. > >TURKISH and Kurdish demonstrators hijacked the London Eye Wednesday >afternoon to protest at the massacre of political prisoners in Turkey. Some >600 people were evacuated from the big wheel after 22 protesters took over >two
Joint message of solidarity. Please distribute widely.
>Dear comrades and friends, > >This is a draft text of a protest letter in >support of the political prisioners >in Turkey. Because of the urgency of the >matter we need to act very fast. If you >like to be included in the list of >signatures let me know on or off-list >as soon as possible. > >If you would like to send your own >protest messages you can use these >FAX numbers: > >Staatspräsident Sezer, Türkei: Fax: 0090 312 427 13 30 > >Ministerpräsident Bülent Ecevit: Fax: 0090 312 417 04 76 > >Justizminister Hikmet Türk: Fax: 0090 312 418 5667, > email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Innenminister Sadettin Tantan: Fax: 0090 312 418 1795 > >Generaldirektor der Haftanstalten Ali Suat Ertosun: > Fax: 0090 312 414 63 01, > email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >For communision >== >Sven Buttler, Marxist-Leninist List >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >-- >Protest letter > >We are very concerned about the recent massacres >carried out by police forces in prisons all over >Turkey. The prisioners that have been under >attack for several days now embarked upon a >hungerstrike in order to protest the inhuman >conditions in Turkish prisions. > >The Turkish authorities want to silence the >prisioners and indeed the whole Turkish >people to uphold the cheap pretence of being >a democratic state. We condemn the recent >undemocratic and coward actions against the >prisoners and demand an immediate moratorium >of attacks. > >Stop the fascist attacks! >For a democratic and free Turkey! > >Signatures so far: >- > >P.V.Srinivas >Incharge >International relations >Communist Party of India (Marxist_Leninist) >India > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Sven Buttler, Germany > >Alan Dover, New Zealand > >Charles F. Moreira > >Javad Eskandarpour, USA >Per Rasmussen, Denmark >http://w1.1559.telia.com/~u155900373/ ___ 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 geopolitics. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___
Vietnam News Dec 21
>Talks held between Vietnamese and Lao NA delegations. > >Laos's National Assembly Chairman Samane Vignhaketh held talks with his host, >Chairman Nong Duc Manh in Hanoi on December 20 to further boost co-operation >between two countries. > >Host and guest expressed their joy and happiness at both their personal >meeting and at the constant development of relations between their countries, >relations they described as "comprehensive and time-honoured". > >National Assembly Chairman Manh said his Lao counterpart's visit was a step >forward in the bilateral relationship and an opportunity to discuss both >bilateral and multi-lateral relations. > >The National Assembly and people of Vietnam always treasure the co-operative >ties with Laos and will try their best to preserve that special relationship >eternally, Said he. > >Mr Samane Vignhaketh said his visit was a manifestation of the friendship and >co-operation between the two parliaments and the two peoples. > >He believed that the time-treasured multifaceted co-operation would help the >two countries, side by side, firmly advance towards the new millennium despite >challenges ahead. (VNA) >Vietnam attends Greek Communist Party Congress > >A delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) led by Pham Van Tho, >member of the Party Central Committee, visited Athens for the 16th Congress of >the Greek Communist Party from December 14-17. > >The head delegate extended greetings from the CPV Central Committee to the >congress and best regards from CPV General Secretary Le Kha Phieu to General >Secretary Aleka Papariga and Honorary President Harilaos Florakis of the Greek >Communist Party. > >The delegation held working sessions with senior officials of the Greek >Communist Party. > >They congratulated Aleka Papariga on her re-election as general secretary of >the Party. > >The delegation also exchanged views with international delegates at the >congress. (VNA) >Mongolia honours Vietnamese > >Mongolia's Silver Star for Peace medal has been presented to the president of >the Vietnam-Mongolia Friendship Association, Hoang Minh Thang, and its former >president, Nguyen Quang Sang. > >The medals were presented by the president of the Mongolia Union of Peace and >Friendship Organisations, Chuluun Batjargal, at a ceremony in Hanoi on >December 20. > >Present at the ceremony were acting President of the Vietnam Union of >Friendship Organisations Vu Xuan Hong and Mongolia's ambassador to Vietnam, >Avaadorjiin Tsolmon . > >Hoang Minh Thang expressed his thanks at receiving the precious award and said >he would do his best to contribute to developing friendly relations between >Vietnam and Mongolia. (VNA) >Deputy minister visits Belgium, Luxembourg > >Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Tran Chien Thang paid working >visits to Belgium and Luxembourg on December 17 and 18. > >While in Belgium, he worked with the general high commissioner in charge of >international relations of the French-speaking Belgian community, P Suinen on >cultural co-operation between the two countries. > >He was also received by Brussels Mayor Marion Lemesrer. > >In Luxembourg, Thang held working sessions with officials of the Ministry of >Culture and the University of Teaching and Research and discussed future >projects. > >He toured a number of cultural establishments in the two capitals. (VNA) > >Hanoi party chief meets Catholic cardinal > >Hanoi Communist Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong and other senior officials of the >city, on December 19, visited Cardinal Pham Dinh Tung, president of the >Vietnam Episcopal Council, to mark Christmas and the ending of Holy Year - >2000. > >The city's Party leader said he hoped Episcopal Council and Vietnamese >Catholic priests and believers would continue to promote the tradition of 'God >Respect and Patriotism,' joining hands with all residents to build a civilised >and beautiful Hanoi. > >Mr Trong, who is also a Politburo member of the Communist Party of Vietnam >Central Committee, also briefed the Cardinal on the city's success in >socio-economic development this year. > >Cardinal Tung told the city's leader about the Catholics' preparations for >Christmas and the Episcopal Council's annual meeting, slated for early next >year. (VNA) ___ 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 geopolitics. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___
Palestine: CP's Of Med Solidarity Statement
> > CP of Greece, Solidarity Statement with the Palestinian People taken in > Athens meeting > - >From: Communist Party of Greece >http://www.kke.gr, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >Solidarity Statement with the Palestinian People taken in Athens meeting > >We representatives of Communist and Workers Parties of the Southern and >Eastern Mediterranean, the Gulf Region and the Red Sea, meeting in >Athens on 16th December 2000 at the fringes of the 16th Congress of the >Communist Party of Greece, declare our condemnation to the Israeli >bloody aggression on the Palestinian people, and confirm our full >support with their legitimate just struggle for independence and >national sovereignty and the return of the Palestinian refugees >according to the resolutions of the international legitimacy and condemn >the American policy that take the side of its strategic ally Israel. > >We salute the just struggle of the Palestinian people and its heroic >steadfastness and great sacrifices in facing the Israeli aggression, and >we appeal to all peace-loving and freedom forces all over the world to >accelerate their solidarity activities with the Palestinian people to: >1. Stop the Israeli aggression and its bloody crimes and lift the >Israeli military, economic sanctions imposed on the Palestinian people. >2. Continue the struggle and pressure on all levels to force the >Israeli government to abide to the international legitimacy especially >resolutions 242,338,194 and implement them to ensure the complete >Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territories in Syria and Lebanon >occupied since the 5th of June 1967, and demolish all its settlements >and establish the Palestinian independent sovereign State with Eastern >Jerusalem as its capital. >3. Provide immediate international Protection to the Palestinian People >to ensure their security until their independence. >4. Form international investigation commission to investigate the >Israeli occupation, and punish the criminals according to the >International Law and Geneva agreement. >5. Demand the UN sponsor to the future negotiations to brake the >American monopoly in leading the negotiations, due to the American role >in taking bluntly the side of Israel in its aggression. > >Athens, 16th December 2000 > >Egyptian Communist Party >AKEL of Cyprus >Communist Party of Greece >Tudeh Party of Iran >Iraqi Communist Party >Communist Party of Kurdistan-Iraq >Communist Party of Israel >Jordanian Communist Party >Lebanese Communist Party >Palestinian Peoples Party >Communist Party of Sudan >Syrian Communist Party >Syrian Communist Party > > >
