International Viewpoint IV384 December 2006

IV384 - December 2006

INTERNATIONALVIEWPOINT

News and analysis from the Fourth International

France - Pre-electoral turbulence

Italy - Discord in Rifondazione

Sri Lanka -For Tamil self-determination

FrancePre-electoral turbulence in France - François Sabado 3

NetherlandsSpectacular Breakthrough for Socialist Party - Koen Haegens 6

ItalyDiscord in Rifondazione

over confidence in Prodi - Salvatore Cannavò, Carlos Sevilla 8

DenmarkAutonomous Youth House fights back - Aage Skovrind 10

EcuadorCorrea's triumph is victory against oligarchy and neoliberalism - Margarita Aguinaga 11

MexicoMarcos: Oaxaca from above - and below - Subcomandante Marcos 12

Sri LankaFor the right to self-determination of Ilankai Tamils - Vickramabahu Karunarathne 14No war in Sri Lanka -

self determination for the Tamil people - International on-line petition 16

ListingArticle Index - 2006 17

International Viewpoint - IV384 - December 2006

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France - Italy - Sri Lanka

IV384 - December 2006

INTERNATIONAL VIEWPOINTis a review of news and analysis publishedunder the auspices of the Executive Bureau

of the Fourth International. IV appears online at

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ISSN 1294-2925


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the position within it of thedifferent political and socialorganisations and currentsseems quite confused. And inaddition it is a polemicalsubject, including within theLCR. We would like to know theposition of the Ligue leadershipand your own opinions on thequestions in this process. Tostart with, could you summarisethe general positions of theLigue?

François Sabado: The startingpoint for this process was theNO victory in the referendum onthe European Constitution on the29th May 2005. For the firsttime in a long time there was adefeat of the economicallyliberal European project. It wasthus completely natural thatthere was a continuation of thisboth on the level of a fight backagainst liberal attacks as well asthe desire to build an electoralexpression for the leftwing Noforces. This did not pose majorproblems in action, in particularin the mobilisation against theBolkenstein directive, or insolidarity with young people'sfight against the CPE.

Although we should note thatdivergences appeared during themovement between, on the onehand, the left currents in the SPand the PCF who refused tochallenge the rightwinggovernment in power, and on the

other hand, organisations likethe LCR which, even with itslimited forces, tried to direct themovement against the Chirac-Villepin government. On theelectoral level, there also thisunitary aspiration, but there thethings are complicated, becauseelectoral and institutionalquestions pose, even on theparliamentary level, the problemof power, whether that is on theoverall political level - whatbreak with liberalism? - or in theform of the governmentalanswers.

That is why from September2005 we said to the PCF that wewere ready to discuss all thesequestions. In fact, we wrote thatthe PCF was at a crossroads:either it could choose to continuethe dynamics of the leftwing Noby clearly refusing all newparliamentary and governmentalalliance with a PS leadership thathad voted yes to the Europeanconstitution. And in this case, wewere ready to constitute an anti-liberal front with all thecomponents of the left No,including the PCF, for theelections.

Or it could try to do a balancingact, discussing with the LCR butkeeping its agreements with thePS at the same time and, in thatcase, it could not count on us toconstitute a unitary politicalalternative of unit.

We were ready to discuss andfrom that point the discussiondeveloped on two closely relatedquestions: First, does aconsistent defence of an anti-liberal programme imply movesalong the path of a break withcapitalism? Does defence ofpublic services require not onlyundoing rightwing privatisationsbut also what the left privatised,which implies recommendinggeneral solutions of forms ofpublic and social property fortransport, energy,telecommunications and otherkey sectors of the economy? TheLCR answered these questionsby arguing the need for a breakwith capitalism.

The PCF though defended theidea of undoing rightwingprivatisations but not thosecarried out by the plural leftgovernment of 1998-2002, inwhich it had participated. Onemployment, we defend radicalsolutions like forbidding "stockexchange" dismissals. The PCFsticks to general formulas for thedefence of employment withoutposing the problem of aconfrontation with employers.The second question underdiscussion is the question ofgovernment. We think that thedefence of an anti-liberalprogramme in the continuity ofthe referendum NO cannot goalongside a parliamentarycoalition or participation in a

On the radical left, the difficultprocess of trying to determine aunitary candidate on the "anti-neoliberal" movement continueswith votes in all the localcollectives to determine whichcandidate each collectivesupports. This process shouldculminate in a national meetingon 9/10th September.

The global justice and peasantactivist José Bové who wasoriginally a "candidate to becandidate" has withdrawn. Thereremain in the running Marie-George Buffet, nationalsecretary of the PCF (FrenchCommunist Party), ClémentineAutain, deputy mayor andmember of Paris City Council inwhich she is a member of thePCF group without being a partymember, Yves Salesse, presidentof the Copernic Foundation, aleft wing think tank whichlaunched the original appealagainst the EuropeanConstitution but who is also ahigh ranking civil servant. Theseare the three main contenders.There are 4 others of whom thebest known is Patrick Braouzec,PCF mayor of St Denis in theParis suburbs.

Viento Sur: The possibility of aunitary anti-neoliberalcandidate has awakened a broadinterest in the Europeanalternative left. But thedevelopment of the process and

France

Pre-electoral turbulence in FranceDisputes Left and Right

François Sabado

This interview with François Sabado, member of the Political Bureau ofthe LCR, (Revolutionary Communist League, French section of the FourthInternational) was first published on the website Viento Sur. Since thisinterview took place the process there have been further developments onthe "left" of the French political scene. By a vote of its members theSocialist Party (PS) has designated Ségolène Royal as its candidate. Royalis a self-proclaimed admirer of Tony Blair and has not hesitated to engagein the debates on, for example, security or the education system, withpositions hardly distinguishable from those of the right wing incarnated byNicolas Sarkozy.

L to R: Marie-George Buffet (PCF), Oliver Besancenot (LCR), NoëlMamère (Greens) and Arlette Laguiller


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France

government with the SPleadership. Can one take part ina government that, in the currentbalance of forces, would bedominated by the social-liberalpolicy of the SP leadership? Canthere be joint governmentbetween supporters of the Yesand No on the Europeanconstitution? We answer no,unhesitatingly. The PCFexplained to us that one couldnot rule out the possibility of apolicy change by the SPleadership, of making it shiftunder pressure and thenenvisaging the possibility offorming a government.

But the PCF continued with adual language, it proposed aseries of more or less radicalformulas to us but at the sametime it took part in top-levelmeetings with the SP leadershipto discuss a programmaticalternative for the whole "left"without the PS showing any signof shifting under pressure. ThePCF also made a joint list withthe SP in recent local elections inBordeaux, rejecting an anti-liberal unitary list. We made theproposal of such a list to all thecomponents of the "left No"including the PCF, whichrefused. We had said that PCFwas at a crossroads. It did notwant to be released from itssubaltern relationship with thePS.

From there the situation couldlead only to a fragmentation ofthe anti-liberal forces. We do notwant to allow ourselves to bedrawn into a re-edition of theplural left government. This isnot only a French question. It isposed in Italy with the currentpolicy of Rifondazione, whichsupports the centre left Prodigovernment. It is posed in Berlinwhere the Linskspartei has justbeen sanctioned for havingmanaged Berlin on a socio-liberal basis in alliance with theSPD leadership.

We do not stand fast on thisposition because we aresectarian. We are the systematicdefenders of unity of action ofthe whole left - including the PS- in struggles and movements.But on the governmentalquestion there are unavoidablefundamental delimitations thatconcern the question of theindependence of the radical left,which are behind the problemsposed in Italy or Germany: In asituation where there is a socialand political fight back toliberalism, or there is theemergence of forces breakingwith this liberalism, should theradical left remain independentof the centre left or social-democratic leaders or should itget involved in the mechanics ofalliance with the centre left andsocial democracy?

We resolutely choose the firstoption, and thus we reject thepolicy of the PCF, whichremains on the wholedetermined by its institutionalalliances with the PS. From thispoint of view, we defend theperspective for unitary anti-liberal candidatures but on twoconditions: a consistently anti-liberal programme and anindependent perspective, inparticular on the governmentallevel, from that of the PSleadership.

We even said that we presented acandidate to weigh on thisdiscussion but we were ready towithdraw him provided thatthere is a political agreement onthese questions. More precisely,we had a good formula thatsummed up our approach "whatmatters for us, is the scenario notthe casting". But up to now, theorganisers of these unitarycollectives and the PCFleadership have not wanted toanswer the political problemsposed by the LCR.

There seem to be at least threesignificant political positions

within the process: that of thePCF, that of sectors whichsupport the candidature of JoséBové and those which want aposition on "non party"consensus. How do youcharacterise them?

José Bové did not like thissituation and called on PCFleader Marie-George Buffet andLCR candidate OlivierBesancenot to withdraw and lethim be the unitary candidate. Forus the problem is not the peoplebut the political basis and wehave the same problem withBuffet and Bové on the questionof the relations with the PS, evenif it is in different forms.Fundamentally, there is anagreement by all the componentsof the left No, except the LCR,to discussing a programmaticand governmental alternativewith the PS.

In fact the anti-liberal left Nowas an alliance of leftreformists, Socialists or post-Stalinists, "anti liberal Europe"republicans, global justiceactivists, anti capitalists andrevolutionaries. Once the unitarydynamic of that movementdeclined the left reformistapparatuses returned to theirtraditional policy and inparticular the PCF apparatus,whose priority was themanagement of its institutionalpositions.

José Bové does not have anapparatus and represents a sectorof the global justice movement,with which we share manycommon struggles - involvementon the question of politicalecology and the fight againstGMs for example, but it remainstrapped in a certain conceptionof "lobbying pressure" on socialdemocracy or the dominant leftparties. This sector of the globaljustice movement can be veryradical on a practical questionlike the anti GM fight, but at thesame time it does not think about

politics without posing thequestion of parliamentary orgovernmental alliances with thePS. In the relationship of forcesthis leads it to positionssubordinate to the PS on the bigquestions. Thus, we ask the samequestion to both the PCF and toBové on the question ofalliances. For example, hedeclared that he would not standif Laurent Fabius (former PSPrime Minister, whocampaigned for the No) were thePS candidate. One sees theproblems and the ambiguitiesthat his positions pose.

What is the reality of the unitarycommittees?

The collectives, and inparticularly the public meetingsfor the left No, brought togethermany thousands of peopleduring the campaign. Today theunitary aspiration remains strongbut the collectives no longerhave the representativity and thestrength they had during the Nocampaign. This is because of theeffects of the left No on thepolitical situation. May 29 had avery strong dynamic againstEuropean liberal policy but itwas not sufficiently strong tochange the political relationshipof forces, first of all between thepopular classes and thedominant classes, and thenwithin the labour movementbetween the PS, PCF, a series ofleft reformist currents andrevolutionaries. One thing wasthe dynamic at the base in themeetings in the collectives in thefull swing of the campaign;another is that of the collectivesmore than one year after thecampaign, which are nowcomposed mainly of militants ofa certain generation - fifty-year-olds.

What's more, the left No waspluralist from the socialist left torevolutionaries, but now manyorganisations or currents havereturned to the fold: the socialist

left has gone back to the PS, thedifferent currents in the PCFhave made an internalequilibrium their priority, ratherthan the dynamic of the leftwingNo, and others have alsoreturned to their origins.

On these political questions wehave to recognise that we havelost the battle. The unitaryfeeling and the manoeuvres ofthe PCF leadership have beenstronger than our arguments. Thenational meetings of thecollectives have not wanted toclarify the questions asked. Thishas allowed the PCF leadershipto position itself and continuesits meetings with the PSleadership. Some people havebegun to understand theorientation the PCF wants toimpose on the collectives andthis is creating a whole series ofproblems.

But this is where there is asecond question, which is thespecificity of the electoralterrain. Where there is a unitedfront in action it is those who arethe most determined andresolute in the action who winout, and in general the reformistsare cautious about getting intounited fronts in action becausethey see the danger of aradicalisation in the process.

For elections it is different, thestrongest force is not the mostdetermined for action ormobilisation but that which hasthe most institutional positions,the biggest apparatus and anelectoral solution which is themost compatible with theelectoral and institutionalrelationship of forces and thatmeans to defeat the right, to havepeople elected, to get newpositions an agreement with thePS that goes beyond politics orcontent.

In this game the PCF, despite itsorganisational and electoralweakening, still holds a number

France

of aces. It claims more than100,000 members, even on themost optimistic estimationsthere are not more than 5000activists in the committees,many of whom are PCF cadres.Thus today the PCF leadership isdetermined to present Marie-George Buffet as the communistcandidate and the candidate ofthe collectives and is using itsrelative strength to suffocatediscussion in the collectives andto drag them all into supportingMGB.

Today we are continuing thediscussion with a series ofmilitants, currents ororganizations in the collectives.But by refusing to clarify a seriesof political questions, themajority of the organisers of thecollectives are refusing to mapout a path that is clearlyindependent of the PSleadership. Thus the conditionsfor a unitary candidature do notexist. The PCF will have itscandidate with its orientation. Inthis situation we could not allowthe PCF to be the representativeof the left No, so we decided tostand Oliver Besancenot as anLCR candidate but to withdrawhim if the there was a politicalagreement. Today this seemsless and less likely so we arepreparing the Besancenotcampaign.

According to the press and someleftwing activists, includingleading figures of the LCR, theLigue is not fully participating inthe creating the conditions for aunitary candidate and could paya high price for what seems to bea demonstration of sectarianism.How do you react to this?

We are beginning our campaignnow. It will be an anti-capitalistcampaign. We place it in thecontinuity of the left No which,in order to present an overallalternative, must be anchored onclass questions andindependence from social-

liberalism. Our programmestarts from a series of social anddemocratic demands: anincrease in buying power,defence of the public services,the right to stable and guaranteedemployment with a system ofjob security which in practiceforbids redundancies, startingwith those caused by buy-outs.

Olivier Besancenot is the onlycandidate who also has begun acampaign against policediscrimination and violenceagainst immigrants and youngpeople. We do a lot of work witha series of youth associationsand others of undocumentedworkers.

Our enemy is the capitalistsystem, the government, theright, and in particular itsrepresentative in the nextelection, ultra-liberalauthoritarian Nicolas Sarkozy.But we accuse the left and inparticular the PS of adapting toneoliberalism, not breaking withwhat the right did, of seekingconciliation with the employers.The PS leadership identifieswith the acts of the plural leftgovernment under Jospin, itrefuses to reconsider theprivatisations made by the left inthe early 2000s. These are thefundamental reasons for ourrejection of any alliances withthe PS leadership.

We want a radical break with theneoliberal policies that havebeen implemented by left andright in the last twenty years.The PS doesn't and the PCFsubordinates anti-liberalmeasures to its agreements withthe PS.

It is from this point of view thatwe constitute an alternative, witha consistent anti-neoliberalstance based on the mobilisationof youth and workers. Thisstance has undoubted support inthe population. For severalmonths, the opinion polls have

indicated an unquestionablepopularity of Olivier, anemployee - a postman - a youngperson, an anti-capitalist militantwith whom millions of peoplecan identify, a reference pointthat can make it possible, evenon a very distorted electorallevel to rebuild a perspective anda class consciousness againstemployers and the neoliberalcapitalist system. The polls giveOlivier Besancenot between 4and 6 %, 3 to 4% for ArletteLaguiller of Lutte Ouvrière andonly between 2 and 3% to thePCF candidate Marie GeorgeBuffet. In this situation, canunderstand better all the effortsof the PCF leadership toeliminate Olivier's candidature,but without success until today.

Of course, we are not fooled, andwe do not confuse opinion pollswith votes. The pressure for a"useful" vote for the PS will bevery strong. Our campaign willbe very difficult. But we thinkthat in the current situation, withthe hardness of the neoliberalattacks and the adaptation of thetraditional left to neoliberalism,it is essential to build a strongalternative that can resist thepressure and counts in buildingthe necessary balance of forces.We do not know if it there is alsoa "French exception" in theweight that the revolutionary lefthas in the situation. In any caseis worth the effort to continue todefend this "exception".

François Sabado is a member of thePolitical Bureau of the RevolutionaryCommunist League (LCR, Frenchsection of the Fourth International),and of the Executive Bureau of theFourth International.


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José Bové (microphone)


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The elections were a breakthrough for the SP,which won almost 17 per cent of the vote and25 out of 150 seats in the lower house (upfrom 9 seats after the previous elections). TheSP emerged as the country's third-biggestparty, after Balkenende's ChristianDemocrats, who came out almost unscathed,and Wouter Bos' weakened Labour Party.

The extreme reactions about anarchists andMaoists from the right-wing liberals of theVVD, like long-time Finance Minister GerritZalm, were no surprise. More shocking wereattempts by many commentators to treat theSP as the twin of far-right MP Geert Wilders'Freedom Party, which had a smallerbreakthrough with 9 seats, or the smallProtestant Christian Union, which grew to 6seats.

The Financieel Dagblad (Financial Daily)wrote, for example, 'Each in its own way isfighting against the open society beingcreated by European unification and theforces of globalisation. The SP is clinging tothe old protective walls of the welfare stateand the Christian Union to its own religiousidentity, while Wilders wants to defend Dutchculture by keeping out all non-Westernimmigrants.'

The people have spoken, was the prevailinganalysis, and the people are conservative,nationalistic and backward. An even moreextreme example came from the poet IljaLeonard Pfeijffer, who voted for the GreenLeft party: 'The winners of this election sharea repressive, provincial mind-set. Theyexpect little from Europe, and are all tooeager to sacrifice freedom of thought to theirfear of terrorism.... The Randstad (theurbanised western Netherlands, includingAmsterdam, Rotterdam and the Hague) haslost. The peasants have seized power.'

The crisis of liberalism...

The truth is different, and simpler: manyvoters opted on 22 November to move to theleft and oppose the attacks on socialprogrammes. The combined 67 seats for

Labour, the SP, the Green Left party and thenew green Animal Rights party are thebiggest left contingent in Dutchparliamentary history. This result reflects thespirit of Amsterdam's Museumplein, where300,000 people responded in October 2004 tothe trade unions' call to resist governmentattacks on pensions, and of the May 2005referendum defeat for the Europeanconstitution.

There is an understandable longing forsecurity in the face of neoliberal chaosbehind the shift to the left. But that has littleto do with 'conservatism', despite whattoday's right-wing so-called 'progressives'claim. Since when is it 'progressive' todemand lower taxes for corporations andfewer rights for workers?

The real united left-right front in Dutchpolitics is not some imaginary SP-Wildersaxis, but the neoliberal consensus thatstretches from the right-wing VVD to parts ofthe Green Left party. Their goal is tomarginalise resistance to neoliberalism. Whatthey have achieved instead is alienating moreand more voters from politics.

The established parties' overblown reactionsreveal the deep trouble they are in. The VVDlost six seats; the Labour Party lost nine,despite its position in the opposition and itscommanding lead in the polls for much of theprevious year.

Both parties have problems that go far deeperthan a few seats' loss or a few leadershipblunders. Both are in an existential crisis.They are no longer the automatic politicalexpressions of two of the three dominantpolitical currents in the Netherlands,liberalism and social democracy (ChristianDemocracy being the third).

The situation is particularly complicated onthe right. The classical liberals are dividedamong several parties: besides the VVD, theyare also in the once 'left-liberal' D66, theGreen Left party, parts of the Labour Partyand perhaps the Animal Rights party. Sincethe sudden rise of Pim Fortuyn's right-wing

populism in 2002, liberalism is in any eventno longer the glue that holds the Dutch righttogether.

Although Fortuyn's divided, quarrelling partydisappeared from parliament in theseelections, Wilders' success shows that right-wing populism has not lost its appeal. Sodoes right-wing Minister of Immigration RitaVerdonk's success in winning the votes ofalmost half the VVD's members in the party'spre-election leadership contest, and herability to continue to plague VVD leaderMark Rutte after the election. Verdonk, theVVD's number two, managed to get morevotes than Rutte.

Cynics might say that liberalism has fallenvictim to its own success. With so much ofthe welfare state dismantled, one may askwhat central project this current can stillhave. Many liberals hardly seem liberal at allany more. They are animated instead by abitter enmity towards anything even mildlyleftist.

... and of Labour

But the Labour Party has its own problems.After these elections, the SP has at least asstrong a claim to embody the socialdemocratic tradition. The SP's extraordinarygrowth creates an unprecedented situation inDutch politics. For the first time inparliamentary history, the hegemony of theLabour Party - or its pre-war predecessor, theSDAP - is under threat.

A central question in the coming years will bewho represents social democracy in theNetherlands. The SP, despite its origins as aMaoist organisation in the 1970s, mayincreasingly define itself, not as a current tothe left of social democracy, but as the realDutch social democratic party. Its movementto the right was visible in 1998, when itdropped the demand for the nationalisation ofbig companies, and even more this year,when withdrawal from NATO and abolitionof the monarchy no longer appeared in itselection manifesto.

Netherlands

Spectacular Breakthrough for Socialist PartyKoen Haegens

'The anarchists won the elections.' 'The peasants have seized power.' Or was it theMaoist Red Guards? These were some of the reactions once the results were known ofthe parliamentary elections in the Netherlands on 22 November. The reality was thatthe Dutch voted massively for a more social course after four years of harsh right-winggovernments led by Christian Democratic Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. As aresult, for the first time in post-war Dutch history, the Labour Party's dominantposition on the left is being contested, by the anti-neoliberal left Socialist Party (SP).

SP leader Jan Marijnissen


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Netherlands

When it comes to the struggle againstneoliberalism, against Dutch participation inthe US 'war on terror' and other key struggles,the party has consistently held true to itsprinciples. After its breakthrough, however,the pressure for the SP to move to the rightwill increase, as Labour pushes SP leader JanMarijnissen to join in a big coalition withChristian Democracy.

Even so, we must not underestimate theunique, short-lived ideological window ofopportunity that now exists on the left. Thequestion of what socialism means and whospeaks in its name is now a subject for publicdebate. That opens up space for critical-minded socialists.

More is at stake here than seats in parliament,which can be won and lost from one electionto the next. Roots in social movements aremore enduring. The Labour Party has fordecades occupied many positions in the tradeunions, the universities, the media, thejudiciary and the many commissions andadvisory councils that are a big Dutchtradition; but in recent years Labour has beenlosing much of this ground. It is a big, openquestion whether the SP can fill the gap.

The stakes are high. As long as the unionsremain loyal to Labour in government, thepossibility of strong social opposition to apro-business government agenda is morelimited.

There are at least initial signs that the SP isputting down stronger roots in civil society.More and more trade union activists vote SPor have even joined the SP. Antiwar groups,renters' associations and refugeeorganisations also increasingly see the SP asan ally. It is relatively weak amongintellectuals, however. It still labours underthe image of inward-looking party with littleroom for discussion.

Taking responsibility

Putting down roots in the movements is inany event a more promising strategy forchanging Dutch society than grabbing theSP's first chance to join a coalitiongovernment and disappoint its electorate -however great the pressure. This is theimplicit purpose of the comparisons betweenthe SP and Wilders. Marijnissen supposedlyhas to prove his innocence by showing thathe has the nerve to 'take responsibility' -meaning accept a ministerial post in ChristianDemocrat Balkenende's fourth government.

This is nothing less than a call to cheat theSP's voters. It is almost out of the questionthat the Christian Democrats will go alongwith such key points of the SP programme asrolling back this year's health care 'reform',renationalising the railways, raising taxes on

the rich or withdrawing Dutch troops fromAfghanistan.

If the SP gives up these demands, the votersthat deserted the traditional parties this timewill most likely abandon the SP next time.They will either cynically turn their backs onpolitics entirely or perhaps turn to Wilders'far right party - a prospect that apparentlydoes not concern the SP's 'democratic'counsellors.

The voters will probably only give the SP onechance in the near future to prove itself ingovernment. It should therefore wait until ithas optimal conditions for translating asubstantial part of its programme into policy:not only a strong parliamentary delegationbut also an overall left majority inparliament, and above all strong socialmovements and a society in ferment. None ofthis is impossible. Labour, SP and the GreenLeft had a majority in the polls for manymonths during the past year; and October2004 showed that Dutch society is notdoomed to eternal quiescence.

Tasks for the far left

The critical left in and around the SP willhave more than enough work on its hands inthe coming months. To begin with, it needs todefend the advances the left made in theseelections and the confidence the votersplaced in the SP. This means being vigilantfor any course that would cheat the voters -and for the SP to join a Christian Democratic-led government would clearly be cheating thevoters.

The SP called on voters to resist thetemptation to vote 'strategically' for Labourwith the argument that Labour leader Bosmight well end up in Balkenende's nextcabinet, while a vote for the SP would ensurekicking out Balkenende as prime minister.Furthermore, people who voted SP werevoting against the traditional Labourwheeling and dealing with the ChristianDemocrats. If that's what voters had wanted,they would have voted for Wouter Bos.

Left activists inside the SP are also in an idealposition to counter suggestions that the SPhas anything in common with Wilders. Theycan do that most effectively by working tobuild an open, multicultural, democratic andinternationalist SP, a socialist party that takesbold initiatives and offers a clear alternativevision for society. With this starting point, thedebate about who really stands for socialismin the Netherlands can become a veryinteresting one. The VVD's nightmares arenot about to become true anytime soon, butthere could be some fascinating years ahead.

Appendix:

The SP's 'right-wingnationalist voters', and other

nonsense

Considerable nonsense was spouted about theSP before, during and immediately after theelections. To take a small sample of thewealth of examples:

"The SP is fishing in the same troubledwaters as Wilders."

A glance at the figures about the origins ofeach party's voters - easily available to all thecommentators - is enough to dispose of thisnotion. The SP's new voters were almostentirely people who did not vote in the lastparliamentary elections in 2003 or who votedLabour or (to a lesser extent) ChristianDemocratic. Only a very small percentage ofSP voters had voted for the Pim Fortuyn Listin 2003. The situation is very different withWilders: almost a quarter of his voters hadvoted for Fortuyn's party in 2003, and mostof the rest had voted VVD or ChristianDemocratic.

"The SP capitalises on gut reflexes andnationalist sentiments."

Strange then that so few SP voters mentionednationalism, anti-European sentiments ordiscontent with immigration among theirreasons for voting SP. The reasons they didmention: the future and affordability ofhealth care - no fewer than 76 per cent saidthis was their primary motive - and theeconomy and poverty, which 31 per cent saidthis was one of their major reasons.

"The SP is a party of older white men."

Too bad for the SP's hip critics: more thantwo-thirds of SP voters this year werewomen. In the shadow elections held inprimary and secondary schools the SP camesecond, after Labour. The same applies toblack and immigrant voters: the SP is thesecond biggest party among them, secondonly to Labour. Black and immigrant voterselected three of the SP's 25 MPs.

Koen Haegens writes for Grenzeloos.


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The provisional balance sheet of200 days of the Prodigovernment could not be morediscouraging. 'Deregulation',withdrawal from Iraq accordingto "technical timetables" (thetroops are still there), voting ofwar credits for the "peacemission" in Afghanistan,shipment of troops to theLebanon, arms sales to'democratic' China.

The jewel in the crown has beenthe budget for 2007, fulfillingthe Maastricht orthodoxythrough cuts in spending onhealth, education (schools,universities and research),municipal services, increases inmilitary expenditure and so on.A policy which is incapable ofdestroying the material andcultural bases of'Berlusconismo': increasingderegulation of labour, wars inIraq and Afghanistan andinstitutionalised racism.

This situation has certainly beenhelped by the change inorientation of the leading groupof Rifondazione Comunista(Communist Refoundation -RC), once the spearhead of theEuropean alternative left andnowadays trustworthy partner inthe Unione, the governmentcoalition which supports theultra-neoliberal Romano Prodi.

This profound cleavage datesfrom the critical and negative

balance sheet of the 2003referendum on article 18 of thestatute of labour (extension ofunion rights to companies withless than 15 workers) that wasdefeated because the turnoutfailed to reach the necessarythreshold. This ended thepriority orientation of RCtowards the construction of themovements, after the "redbienio" of social mobilizationbetween the G8 in Genoa in2001 and the mobilizationsagainst the war on February 15,2003.

It was during this period that the5th Congress of the partyapproved a critique of Stalinism(though not of the bureaucracythat is its material support) anddecided on the investment of itspolitical capital in themovements. At this time thefamous "15 theses for theconstruction of a Europeanalternative left" by FaustoBertinotti, now president of thechamber of deputies, weredrawn up. After the setback ofthe referendum, the hypothesisof a coalition government withthe centre-left to electorallydefeat Berlusconi won the day.

The 6th Congress of RC in 2005formally adopted this politicaldirection, towards theconstitution of the Unione andthe Prodi government mark 2.From this congress the idea ofthe "Great Reform" also

emerged, a coordination withthose sectors of the "goodbourgeoisie" ready to go"beyond neoliberalism" in"reducing the damage" ofneoliberal policies to workers.

A project that has an importantlimit: "the Italian bourgeoisiedoes not have margins ofredistribution or if it has, itprefers, nevertheless, arestructuring of "labour costs"and the cost of collective hiring,a revision of pension costs infavour of the development ofpension funds and a plan ofextreme deregulation. Reformswhich are indispensable to keepup with the rest of Europeancapitalism and internationalcompetition.

The Prodi governmentconstitutes a privilegedinstrument for this projectbecause it involves the unions inthe theme of coordination and,thanks to the turn of the PRC,guarantees the absence of theonly party that until now wascommitted to social struggle".

In this political conjuncture,Sinistra Critica (SC - CriticalLeft) has emerged around themagazine "Erre-BandieraRossa" (Fourth International),presenting an alternative motionto that of the majority at the 6thcongress of RC in March 2005which obtained 6.5% of thevotes. The activists who make

up this current had united inOctober 1998 with the PRCmajority of Fausto Bertinotti,agreeing that the PRC should notsupport the 1998 budget of thepreceding Prodi government.

Integration in the majority tookplace at the congress of 2002. Aradically different interpretationof the results of the 2003referendum (11 million votes infavour of the extension of article18) in a context of greatopposition from the mainpolitical, union and media forcesof the left, marked the firstconfrontation between thiscurrent and the majority of RC.SC resumed its autonomy in2005 when Bertinotti made aturn towards the centre-leftcoalition and the "GreatReform".

The 3rd Congress of GiovaniComunisti, the youthorganization of the PRC, heldlast September saw an increasein the internal influence of SC inthe party, up to 10%, thanks tothe opposition of SC in theCongress and Senate against thewar credits in Afghanistan(unlike the rest of the party) andthanks also to a partial cycle ofmobilizations that has openedagainst labour deregulation (theStop Precarietà! action onNovember 4), against biginfrastructure projects - No Tavagainst the high speed rail linkbetween France and Italy going

Italy

Discord in Rifondazione over confidence in ProdiAnti-capitalist left versus governmental left

Salvatore Cannavò, Carlos Sevilla

"Market friendly former Marxists"? This was the question the Britishweekly The Economist posed a few months ago concerning thecomposition of the Prodi government, made up of politicians originatingfrom the old Italian Communist Party (PCI) and, to a lesser extent,Christian Democracy. Their fears have been dissipated in the last fewmonths of legislature, with the deregulation of professional sectors and thegeneral budgets of 2007, praised by the European Commission and theIMF. Fausto Bertinotti with Romano Prodi


9

Italy

through the Susa Valley, NoMOSE [1] against the proposedsea barrier in Venice, No ponte(against the bridge to Sicily) -and against Prodi's budget for2007 (November 17) supportedby RC.

The recent SC meeting inRiccione (October 2007)attracted more than 300 peoplefrom every region of Italy. Theconcluding motion of themeeting indicated an exitstrategy from Rifondazionefaced with the hypothesis of theparty of the European left, astrategic project promoted bymost of RC of a left governmentdestined "to reduce the damage"and to maintain the "lesser evil".

The elaboration of aprogrammatic manifesto"Anticapitalista! A critical leftfor the 21st century" for the nextmeeting in January will seal theformal constitution of theassociation Sinistra Critica at anational level to give analternative political way outfrom the crisis that traverses theItalian left and above all the RC.

Salvatore Cannavò is a member of thenational political committee of theParty of Communist Refoundation(PRC) and a PRC deputy in the Italianparliament lower house, the Chamberof Deputies. Carlos Sevilla is a militantof Espacio Alternativa in Spain

NOTES

[1] The MOSE (Modulo SperimentaleElettromeccanico or ElectromechanicalExperimental Module) project is a floodbarrier system, which uses adjustablemetal plates that are raised from the seafloor to prevent water from entering theVenice lagoon when high tides areforecast. Considered too expensive, onlymoderately effective, and having asignificant impact on the lagoonecosystem, it is still heavily opposed byItalian environmentalists and manyVenetians.

Debate on first reading in theChamber of Deputies on themotion of confidence in theProdi Government with respectto the state budget for 2007.

Chamber President FaustoBertinotti asked deputyCannavò to speak in a personalcapacity on his voting intentions.

Salvatore Cannavò (PRC-Sinistra Critica).

"Mr President, representatives ofthe government, I don't likesexpressing my dissent on thehandling of the budget, dissentthat has nothing has to do withthat expressed by the Right,eager for severe anti-socialpolicies. My dissent goes in theopposite direction.

"The budget, beyond beingsacrificed to the logic of"restructuring" and the StabilityPact, is distinguished by anenormous transfer of resourcesto the private sector, with aconsolidated neoliberal logic.Fiscal rebalancing is neutralizedby measures like the additional

Giordano, Salvatore Cannavò,announcing his vote against thebudget, "evidently choosesindividually a way differentfrom that compatible withCommunist Rifondazione".

Replying Salvatore Cannavòsaid, "I am not incompatiblewith the PRC - I am coherent.(...) I dissent from the handling,so I will not participate in thevoting. I do not feelincompatible with the party.Mine is not a gesture of rupturewith Rifondazione, this is not theintention. It is a gesture that Ithink should maintain a coherentthread: in here as arepresentation of a part of theleft that does not want thisbudget. With limitations andwithout presumptions I want tomake this symbolic gesture".

rate of personal income tax, anincrease in indirect taxes, theintroduction of the health ticketand cuts in funding for the citycouncils.

"In addition, that we await anincrease in military expenditure,in a context of hard "re-cleaning", honestly seems to usscandalous. I will not vote infavour of this draft budget lawand I will not vote for theconfidence motion, notparticipating in the voting.

"I hope that this signal of alarmis received with a view to thediscussion in the Senate. Amongthe people of the left, there is awidespread feeling ofdisappointment and disillusion,as was perceived yesterday [theNovember 17 actions againstcuts in social expenditure ineducation, health, and so on] andNovember 4 [nationaldemonstration against labourderegulation]. I believe that it ismy duty to represent in thisassembly, although ininsufficient form, a part of thesemobilizations. This is also a wayto reduce the damage from aneconomic policy that remainsdistant from the hopes of thosewho voted Berlusconi out. "

Following this statement ofvoting intentions FrancoGiordano, Secretary General ofRifondazione Comunista saidthat "Cannavó has chosen atrajectory incompatible withCommunist Rifondazione".(18/11/2006) According to

Protestors fight Carabinieri over TAV inSusa valley, Dec 2005

Salvatore Cannavò

Franco Giordano

The Cannavó/Giordano debate on the motion of confidence in the Prodi government

Appendix:

The left and the 2007 budget

The Red-Green Alliance is calling for apolitical solution which allows the users tokeep the House as a self-managed culturalcentre. However, this outcome appears moreunlikely after the violent clashes, as thepopular support for the users of the House isdiminishing.

The violence broke out following a march byusers of the House and supporters, includingseveral foreigners who had come to Denmarkin the days up to December 14th. December14th was set as the date when the young usersof the House were ordered to leave andtransfer the keys to the legal owners.However, the users from the beginning madeit clear that they have no intention to leavethe House. Eviction date has been postponedby the police and is expected to provoke newviolent clashes.

The controversy about the ownership andaccess to the House dates many years back.

Several houses in Copenhagen were occupiedin the 1980s by the squatters' movement.Among them was a big empty building in theold workers district of Noerrebro, formerlyone of the traditional "Peoples Houses" of theworkers movement.

In 1982, the Municipality of Copenhagenlegalized the occupied House whichdeveloped into a centre of music concerts andother activities. However, in 1999 themunicipality council took a fatal decision tosell the House. In 2000, it was bought by asmall Christian sect. Following a series oflegal battles, the Christians won the legalright to the House in August 2006. The users

were ordered to leave the House byDecember 14th.

Several attempts have been made to convincethe Christian sect that they should sell backthe House. Particularly, a Foundation set upby trade union leaders, lawyers and formerusers offered to buy the house for 13 million(plus 2 million for renovation) Danish kroner(apr. 2 million euros). However, the Christiansect refused even this favourable offer,declaring it a "matter of principle".

The Red Green Alliance has condemned theuse of political violence, while insisting thatthe responsibility for a peaceful solution is apolitical matter, particularly by the citycouncil which sold the House in 1999. Red-Green members of the city council as well ofthe national Parliament have submittedseveral proposals, including implementationof a district or a national development plan,which ties the use of the House to the presentactivities. However, proposals like these havebeen rejected by a majority of politicalparties so far.

"Consequently, police will be used asgarbage collectors for the mess created by thepoliticians", says MP Line Barfod of the Red-Green Alliance, adding that there is animmediate risk of more violence, moredestruction and more casualties.

"However, even at the 11th hour, time hasn'trun out for a political solution yet. The Red-Green Alliance is working for this and urgesall responsible politicians to do so as well",she adds.

Aage Skovrind is press secretary of the Red-GreenAlliance.

Website of the Youth House

In English: http://ungdomshuset.info/

en.php3?id_rubrique=4

Denmark

Autonomous Youth House fights backAage Skovrind

Controversy about the future of an autonomous cultural centre in Copenhagen, knownas the Youth House (or "Ungeren"), escalated on December 16 with fierce streetfighting between police and users of the House. Two hundred and seventy threepeoples were arrested: most of them, however, were released the following day. Usersof the House declare that they have nothing to loose and no intention of leaving "their"house.

10



11

Some years ago, after the fall ofPresident Lucio Gutiérrez in2003, it was said that there weretwo possibilities at that time ofcrisis of political representationin the state, an advance towardsthe most recalcitrant form of thecrisis of neoliberalism, whichwould imply a strong right blocand the harshest measuresagainst the people to restore thesituation of the model, or a turnto left and the possibility ofreversing the neoliberal model inits fundamental aspects.

That change is now certain, ithas taken shape andsimultaneously a newcorrelation of forces has beenopened and the possibility of ahistoric moment, favouring theproletariat and the oppressed ofEcuador. The right did notmanage to make the fall of LucioGutiérrez the arena to usher inneoliberal proposals, ashappened in 2000, with JamilMahuad and dollarization, afterthe fall of Abdalá Bucaram in1997.

Instead, democratic content andthe confluence of strugglesagainst the TLC [Tratado deLibre Comercio - the free tradetreaty with the United States],fought mainly over the last two

years by indigenous and popularorganizations, have cometogether in the left alliance infavour of Rafael Correa. Thecourse of history in favour of thepeople has been opened initiallyand this is reason not only to behappy, but to put an impetus intothe anti-capitalist processes.

It is evident that the right andimperialism have suffered adefeat, although the form of theircounter-offensive can beforeseen, we can be guided bywhat has happened andcontinues happening againstVenezuela, Cuba and Bolivia;they will not remain quiet, thebourgeoisie is going to look toregain control of thegovernment, under the politicaland military forms that itrequires to do this, hoping toerode this government and theleft, to turn the people against it.Rafael Correa won the electionsrepresenting, amidst weaknessesand errors, a quite radicaldiscourse and set of proposals.

In addition, with a right wingcongress dominated by rightpopulism, which, by means ofthe Patriotic Society Partyannouncing that it will supportthe Constituent Assembly, seeksto disguise the fact that this same

political force, along with theSocial Christians and the PRIANand PRE, was on the verge ofsurrendering the country'ssovereignty to the United Statesby signing the TLC; this is nomore than a strategy, because itssocial base could be weakened -the poor people that voted PSPin the first round, radicalisedtheir position in the secondround and went to the left.

It is preferable to trust the directalliance between the people andthe left, to make it stronger, thisis the base that not only is goingto maintain the new government,but will push for the Correa'scampaign proposals to be carriedout so we can advance towardsanother situation of struggle, notonly in Ecuador but in LatinAmerica and the world.

Although Rafael Correaobtained a significant vote in thefirst round, in the second round,an articulation of leftconsciousness in the urban andrural sectors of the country wasdeveloped; a new encounterbetween the social and politicalforces of left, between all theactors who for more than twodecades have fought openlyagainst neoliberal globalisation.

We have many challenges: - toconsolidate a government whichfulfils the most importantpromises like not signing theTLC, creating the ConstituentAssembly and improving theconditions of life, employment,health, education and housing,of the poorest people of thecountry; on the other hand, toconsolidate the unity of the leftthat will be tested in the capacityto take ahead a ConstituentAssembly, not only altering butpushing back the neoliberalmodel in its substance, that is, onprivatisation and in relation tothe foreign debt; to radicalisespecific reforms and to harnessthe struggle for respect, humanand collective rights, that benefitindigenous peoples, women,young people and so on, in theperspective of constructing aNew Society; to affirm a processof unity and alliance withVenezuela, Brazil, Cuba, Boliviaand other peoples in resistance inLatin America, Europe, Africaand Asia; to promote newprocesses of organization and tostrengthen the proposals of thepopular and collectiveassemblies of struggle to allowthe opening of a broad debateabout where we want ourcountry to go; also it is a time of

Ecuador

Correa's triumph is victory against oligarchy and neoliberalismMargarita Aguinaga

"Arise the poor of the world, stand up the slaves without bread,we advance united..." The victory of the oppressed is expressedin the election of Rafael Correa as President of the Republic.The last two months have produced a meeting of socialconsciousness and left politics, expressed in Correa's triumphagainst oligarchy and neoliberalism represented by AlvaroNoboa and the ultraconservative forces of the country; whiletheir support for Noboa has unmasked the Social Christians,Roldosistas, PRIAN and what remains of Popular Democracy.

In the last two weeks therepression has becomeparticularly severe. Duringclashes between police andtroops on the one hand andsupporters of APPO (PopularAssembly of the Peoples ofOaxaca) on the other, severalpeople have been killed, morethan 220 have been arrested or'disappeared' and hundreds havebeen injured. On Monday 4December key APPO leaderFlavio Sosa, together with hiscomrades Ignacio García andMarcelino Coache, were arrestedin Mexico City and taken tohigh-security Almoloya prisonin Mexico state.

Dozens of prisoners have beendispersed to jails outsideOaxaca. Many families do notknow the fate of relatives whohave disappeared - are theyarrested, have they beenmurdered, are they beingtortured? In the struggles of thisyear torture and abuse ofprisoners has become normal inMexico.

To fight back the APPO hascalled a new 'mega march' forSunday 10 December in Oaxaca,to demand the release of theimprisoned militants. Theleadership of the 'centre-left' andcentre parties - the PRD, PT [2]and Convergence of ProgressiveForces, have all indicated theywill participate in the march.APPO is threatening to reimpose

the recently called-off teachersstrike throughout Oaxaca unlessthe repression stops.

Many famous intellectuals andpersonalities - including left-wing Senator Rosario Ibarra dePiedra, the writer CarlosMontemayor the actress OfeliaMedina have also indicated theirintention to participate.

Below we publish the December6 statement of EZLN leaderSubcomandante Marcos (aka'Delegado Zero') on Oaxaca andthe EZLN call for solidarity.Marcos' statement was madeduring the final meeting of theNorthern phase of the nationaltour of the EZLN's 'OtherCampaign'.

NOTES

[1] National Action Party which is right-wing, neoliberal and pro-US.

[2] Party of the Democratic Revolutionand Workers Party respectively.


12

revolutionary ideologicalreaffirmation that should not belost.

It is a good time to recover andto advance, for a rethink on thenew left. The political action ofthe political and socialorganizations, in addition,depends on reflection, becauseto build socialism we need toconsider the contributions ofhistory, to strengthen and updateit from our conditions, Marxism,feminism and otherrevolutionary theories that willhelp us to reconstruct therevolutionary utopia, startingfrom the historical struggles ofour own people.

Times of greater respect, dignityand creativity are coming, somesay the beginning of arevolutionary process, in thissense all must contribute in theperspective of maximising theimpact the first left governmentthat has existed in the history ofEcuador (there was also thepresidency of Jaime Roldós, but

this is the first presidencyoriginating from the left andpromoting the socialism of the21st century).

If it represents a great step forone of the smaller peoplesterritorially, it has beautiful andcombative referents next toCuba, Venezuela and Bolivia. Itis time to gather the first part ofthe harvest, of the valiantstruggles of the indigenousmovement, impelled by theCONAIE, the FENOCIN andother indigenous organizations,by women, workers, youngpeople, and the critical thinkerswho are pointing out anotherway in history and another exitfrom the crises and defeats thatwe have experienced,challenging us to continueprioritising political objectivesby the construction of popularpower and socialism.

Margarita Aguinaga is a feministactivist in Refundación Socialista,Ecuadorian section of the FourthInternational.

Oaxaca battles vicious repression

Marcos: Oaxaca from above - and belowRadical Mexico rallies to defend imprisoned and missing

Subcomandante Marcos

Introduction by International Viewpoint

At the end of October Mexico's PAN [1] government sentthousands of paramilitary police to crush the nearinsurrectionary movement, which has mobilised hundreds ofthousands against the corrupt state government of Ulises Ruiz.

Flavio Sosa


13

Hundreds of people detainedillegally, dozens of peopledisappeared, tortures, searches,and beatings. Young men andwomen, indigenous people,children, elders. In other words:the people of Oaxaca who comefrom below. Above, there are theFederal Preventive Police,Ulises Ruiz's paramilitaries, themass media, the political class.

To be quiet in the face of this isto say "Oaxaca" from above, andto make top-down assessmentsthat are cheerful...and idiotic.

Because up above they areprepared to declare thateverything has returned tonormal and that the "conflict" iscontrolled because "the leaders"have been detained, as if thismovement had "leaders" to bebought, imprisoned or killed.They say that now we must lookthe other way.

That is to say, we must turn asteady gaze to those above, tothe paraphernalia of politicalpower, to its simulations and itsfronts, which command and giveorders while the true Powerdoles out the day's orders to itsmedia, pundits, announcers,artists, intellectuals, policechiefs, military units andparamilitary.

To say "Oaxaca" from below isto say compañero andcompañera, to draw near to thosewho are persecuted, to mobilizeour own forces to demand thereturn of the disappeared and therelease of detainees, to inform,to call for international solidarityand support, to not be quiet, tospeak of this southern pain andto announce that it extendsthrough the entire country andbeyond its borders on all foursides, as though it were downbelow where pains walks, isnamed, spoken of and listenedto.

Mexico

DECEMBER 2, 2006

TO THE PEOPLE OFMEXICO: TO THE PEOPLEOF THE WORLD:

SISTERS AND BROTHERS:

THE ATTACK THAT OURBRETHREN, THE PEOPLE OFOAXACA, SUFFERED ANDARE SUFFERING, CANNOTBE IGNORED BY THOSEWHO STRUGGLE FORLIBERTY, JUSTICE ANDDEMOCRACY IN EVERYCORNER OF THE PLANET.

FOR THIS REASON, THEEZLN CALLS EVERYHONEST PERSON, INMEXICO AND AROUND THEWORLD, TO BEGIN, FROMTHIS MOMENT,CONTINUOUS ACTIONS INSOLIDARITY AND SUPPORTOF THE OAXACAN PEOPLE,WITH THE FOLLOWINGDEMANDS:

FOR THE LIVE RETURN OFTHOSE WHO HAVEDISAPPEARED, FOR THERELEASE OF PRISONERS,FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF

Oaxaca is extending in pain, butalso in struggle. Pieces of thispeople, as if parts of a puzzle,are scattered throughout thenational territory and beyond itsgeographic limits, which, at leastin the north, are more ridiculousthan ever.

During the two months that wespent walking in the differentcorners of the Mexican north,Oaxaca appeared over after over.And it cloaked itself in pain andrage, and it spoke to us andwatched us.

And the Other Campaignlistened and keeps listening; andit extends its arms, as do thethousands of Zapatistas whoblocked off the roads of Chiapason two occasions in solidaritywith Oaxaca and the Others inall of the corners of Mexico fromBelow, as well as the others in allof the corners of the world. Asthey extend their arms. As theywill keep extending them even ifno one pays attention; as we whoare nobody will not become afragmented mirror.

In front of Oaxaca, for Oaxacaand by Oaxaca, we say:

Subcomandante Marcos (DelegadoZero) is a leading mebver of the EZLN- Zapatista Army of NationalLiberation.

Marcos at Oaxaca protest meeting

WORDS FROM DELEGATE ZERO OF THE SIXTHCOMMISSION OF THE EZLN. DECEMBER 2, 2006.

COPAI-México

The Other Campaign in the North of Mexico:saying "Oaxaca" from above and below

ULISES RUIZ AND FEDERALFORCES FROM OAXACA,FOR THE PUNISHMENT OFTHOSE GUILTY OFTORTURE, RAPE ANDMURDER. IN BRIEF: FORFREEDOM, DEMOCRACYAND JUSTICE FOR THEPEOPLE OF OAXACA.

WE CALL FOR THISI N T E R N A T I O N A LCAMPAIGN TO SAY, IN ALLWAYS AND IN ALL PLACESWHERE IT IS POSSIBLE,WHAT HAS HAPPENED ANDIS HAPPENING IN OAXACA,EACH PERSON IN THEIROWN MANNER, TIME ANDSPACE.

WE CALL FOR THESEACTIONS TO CULMINATE INA GLOBAL MOBILIZATIONFOR OAXACA ONDECEMBER 22, 2006.

THE OAXACAN PEOPLEARE NOT ALONE. WE MUSTPROCLAIM THIS AND SHOWTHAT IT IS TRUE, BOTH TOTHEM AND TO EVERYONE.

Democracy! Liberty!Justice!

COMMUNIQUE FROM THE CLANDESTINEREVOLUTIONARY INDIGENOUS COMMITTEE-

GENERAL COMMAND OF THE ZAPATISTA ARMYFOR NATIONAL LIBERATION (EZLN).

EZLN appeal for national and internationalsolidarity

Acclaimed muralist Gerardo Bonilla, whohas been ’disappeared’ in Oaxaca


14

clan identity. The word jathiya,the Sinhala word used in generaltoday to represent a nation, wasused widely at that stage torepresent caste. Even today ifone asks a Kandyan villagerabout his jathiya he may assumethat as a reference to his caste. Inany case at that time and untilrecently people in Lanka weremore loyal to their caste groupthan any other form ofcommunity. Sinhala royaltyalways thought it is better tomarry some one from Tamilroyalty than to a lower casteperson from Sinhala kingdom.This thinking was not confinedto the royalty but common toalmost all caste groups. Eventoday such thinking exists inspite of Sinhala vs. Tamilnational clashes.

I explain all this in order to showthat the Tamil or Sinhala nationas we know today did not existin the past. Nation building is arelatively new phenomenon. Itmeans that a community with thesame language and tradition willunite to work democratically.This is the positive side of anemerging nation, its ability tobreak down caste and otherparochial barriers to unite acommunity with equality andfraternity. In the recent past wesaw the emergence of severalnationalities in Lanka. Sinhalanationality emerged with thetemperance movement under

For example, Sinhala was usedin the Anuradhapura period torepresent a Vansa, a clan ofpeople associated with aparticular agriculture based on aspecial irrigation system. Thesepeople were considered to be ofAryan descent. Aryans were thenomadic people who invadedIndia around 2000 BC andoverran Dravidian clan societiesclustered around the Indusvalley and elsewhere. It iswidely believed that around 500BC some Aryan people came toLanka and overpowered theDravidian society that existedthere. Thus there were Vansaclashes in that early period ofhistory. These Vansa clashescontinued until the end of theRajarata Civilization and theemergence of semi-feudalsociety in the wet zone. In thissociety divisions were basedmore on trade caste groups.

When we look at the Kandyankingdom before the takeover bythe British, we see that the wordSinhala is used to represent theruling elite. The Radala-Mudalielite referred to themselves asthe Sinhala. In this scenario notonly the other caste groups in theKandyan areas were left out ofthe Sinhala identity, but also theentire community in the lowcountry who spoke SinhalaLanguage as their mothertongue. At this stage caste wasmore important than any other

The right of self determinationof the Tamil speaking people isthe foremost issue in modernLankan society. Though it isrelated to the Tamil vs. Sinhalaconflicts narrated in variouschronicles, the present formarises out of an inability toconstruct a democratic, plural,civil society. Though Sri Lanka(the Sinhala equivalent ofIlankai) is considered a nation bythe United Nations, Sri Lankannationality is yet to berecognized by the masses here.People in Lanka considerthemselves as Sinhala, Tamil,Muslim, Burger, Veddha, etc.and rarely as Sri Lankans. In thatsense it is a Society ofNationalities. As a Marxist, Iconsider nations are really builton a capitalist market economy. Irefer to a community as anationality if that community ofpeople is in conscious struggle tobe a nation but not yet maturedfully as one.

The word nation is loosely usedto represent any group of peoplewith a common language. Butsuch a definition is not useful inunderstanding problems ofnationhood in modern society.The identities Sinhala and Tamilwere used in Lanka for a longperiod of time stretching as farback as 3rd century BC. But theentity represented by the termTamil or Sinhala is very differentat different times.

Anagarika Dharmapala. Parallelto this there were movementslaunched by AarumugaNaawalar and Siddhi Lebbe. TheVeddha community also assertedits identity under Thissahamyand others.

Thus when the British wentaway in 1948, Lanka remained aprison house of severalnationalities. Power wasconcentrated in the hands of theEnglish speaking elite thatbehaved like a separatenationality. A tiny community ofless than one million fake Anglo-Saxons, who relished the chanceto imitate Anglo-Americanupper classes, appropriated andheld all economic, political andsocial powers in their hands.

Tamil upper classes considerthemselves a part of this elite. Infact early leaders whocollaborated with the thenBritish rule were famous Tamilssuch as Sir PonnambalamRamanadan. It was in theirinterest to build a state power onthe basis of Sinhala Buddhistchauvinism. This policy wasstarted by D.S.Senanayake andcontinued with vigour by theBandaranaikes. They de-franchised Tamil plantationworkers and made the majorityof the working class state-less. Aconsistent campaign ofdiscrimination was aimed atTamil speaking people. WhileEnglish remained the language

Sri Lanka

For the right to self-determination of Ilankai TamilsVickramabahu Karunarathne

The Sri Lanka government is carrying out an undeclared war against theTamil people. The government of Mahinda Rajapaksa has consistentlybreached the 2002 cease-fire agreement with the LTTE. The anti-waropposition has been put under extreme pressure. Tamil MP NadarajaRaviraj was gunned down in Colombo on November 9 and other activistshave received serious death threats. At the heart of this secret war is theissue of the historic right to self-determination for the Tamil people.


15

Sri Lanka

of the rulers, Sinhala was madethe sole official language to beused as a device fordiscrimination.

Sinhala Colonization schemeswere established in Tamil areasto create communal disharmonyand fool the Sinhala poormasses. So called media wisestandardization was used todiscriminate against Tamilstudents. All this pushed theTamils in to protest andrebellion. As early as 1930, eventhe Tamil elite had to break awayand put separate demands to theBritish Raj. Then they demanded50/50 in the legislativeassembly, meaning that Sinhalamajority should get no more than50% of seats. Later the FederalParty was formed with thedemand for Autonomy for theNorth and the East.

In the 1950s, the Marxistmovement led by the LankaSama Samaja Party foughtagainst this fraud and stood forequality, democracy andsocialism. The Communist Partyin early 50s passed a resolutionaccepting the Right of selfdetermination for the Tamils, butnothing was done to take this tothe public. Tamils and othernational minority groups showedmuch faith and expected fair-play from them.

Later, however, LSSP/CPleaders made a fundamentalmistake and joined the capitalistgovernment of Mrs SirimaBandaranaike. Once in powerthey also became pawns in thehands of Sinhala chauvinism. Infact Dr. Colvin R de Silva, whoonce said "One language - Twonations" became the man whoformulated the Buddhisttheocratic constitution. This totalbetrayal led to muchdisillusionment among Tamilyouth. The failure of the old leftmovement against SinhalaBuddhist chauvinism opened thestage for violence against the

Tamil people. Racial riots brokeout several times, the worst ofwhich was in 1983. All this ledto the liberation struggle of theTamil people.

Today Lankan Tamil nationalityis a complex entity. Firstly, socalled native Tamils of the northand east have developed asEelam Tamils with arecognizable homeland. Theirnational consciousness hasdeveloped to a high degree.They form the basis of theexisting armed struggle forTamil liberation. Though theSinhala army of the Mahindaregime is in occupation ofcertain strategic areas of theTamil homeland, it has failed toget the upper hand. Under theMOU signed by RanilWickramasinghe in 2002, morethan one third of the Tamil homeland was accepted to be underthe direct control of the LTTE.

Secondly, the plantation Tamilsof up-country, descendents ofsouth Indian Tamil workersbrought to Lanka by the British-raj, have not identified entirelywith the Eelam liberationstruggle. Certainly the youth ishighly influenced by the strugglein the north and east. But theirdemands are different, beingvery largely socio-economic.Land and citizenship rights,greater autonomy for Tamilareas, and greater Tamilparticipation in localadministration, are some of theirdemands.

Thirdly, there is a substantialTamil community living inColombo and its suburbs. Theyare a combination of native andIndian Tamils. Except for therecent refugees, others are moreinterested in getting equality andjustice than supporting theliberation struggle. However, inspite of these divisions allTamils are living under fear andrepression. On the other hand,the war has its effect on all

Tamils irrespective of theiractual connection to theliberation struggle.

The Nava Sama Samaja Party,from its inception defended theRight of Self Determination ofthe Tamil speaking people.Before becoming a party, as agroup within the Lanka SamaSamaja Party, in 1974 we cameout with our analysis of theTamil National Question. Weexplained that Tamil nationalityis emerging fighting for its selfdetermination. the only unitypossible is the voluntary unionof the two nationalities. For this,recognition of the right of selfdetermination of Tamil people isa precondition. Acceptance ofequality, autonomy and theRight of Self Determination isthe only basis for a democraticunity.

Since 1974 we have beenfighting for this position in allour political campaigns. In spiteof many difficulties, we havemanaged to take this messageamong the Sinhala people. Wehave influenced the thinking ofalmost all political parties ofLanka. Concepts of equality,autonomy and the right of selfdetermination are now verywidely discussed. Understandingof the masses has increasedtremendously. And now there iswidespread resentment againstthe war efforts of thegovernment.

In 1994 Vasudeva Nanayakkaraand a few others broke away andcollaborated with SLFP ledgovernments. Though they paylip service to the TamilLiberation, in practice they havebecome a part of the treacherousgroup led by the CP and LSSP.This coalitionist left has becomethe cover for the killer regime ofMahinda Rajapaksa.

It is clear that the Westernpowers are now backing thechauvinist Mahinda regime. We

explained all along that it isfutile to expect the GlobalCapitalist powers to intervenehere to safeguard the interests ofTamil and Muslims or any otherminority.

Many Tamil leaders believedthat Indian Rulers would helpthem to achieve freedom fromdiscriminations and oppression.In fact they appealed for militaryintervention. However, theIndian intervention became anightmare for the Tamils. TodaySinhala chauvinist, such asGunadasa Amarasekara openlyclaim that the Indianintervention was a god sentchance for them and regret that itwas not fully utilized to crushthe LTTE.

Now, the same thing is repeatedin relation to the Western powersled by the Americans. Tamilshave to accept that it is foolish toexpect support for the Tamilstruggle from the West againstthe Mahinda regime thatcollaborates with theDevelopment Programme of theWest.

The Mahinda Regime whilepaying lip service to the peaceproject is hell bent on crushingthe Tamil uprising. On the otherhand the LTTE appears tobelieve that suicidal attacks bythe Tamil youth can achieveliberation. So far no efforts aremade to take the issue among theleft democratic forcesinternationally. Left Front(NSSP) will take the issue ofTamil Liberation among LeftDemocratic Forces both locallyand internationally. We shallshow that Mahinda Regime is atotal failure not only on theTamil National problem but alsoby becoming a vassal of GlobalCapital.

Vickramabahu Karunarathne('Bahu')is the general secretary of theNava Saja Samana Party (NSSP -New Socialist Party), the Sri Lankasection of the Fourth International.

The government of MahindaRajapaksa, elected on a Sinhalachauvinist basis in November2005, has consistently breachedthe 2002 cease-fire agreementwith the LTTE. They have beenconducting aerialbombardments, specificallyoutlawed under the agreement.In August, the Sri Lankan airforce destroyed an orphanage inSencholai, killing 50 children.

The anti-war opposition hasbeen put under extreme pressure.Tamil MP Nadaraja Raviraj wasgunned down in Colombo onNovember 9 and other activistshave received serious deaththreats.

External support for theMahinda regime is essential inallowing it to carry out this warmongering. The Sri Lankanarmy leadership is trained at the

British army training school atSandhurst while the Tamil Tigers(LTTE) are banned as asupposedly "terrorist"organisation across Europe.

We therefore call on ourgovernments and internationalinstitutions to lift any bans onthe LTTE and to demand that theSri Lankan government:

v End the aerial bombardments;

v End the disappearances andstop support for paramilitaries;

v Open the A9 road and otheraccess routes so that essentialhumanitarian supplies can getthrough to the Tamil areas in thenorth;

v Re-open negotiations with theLTTE for a just solutionacceptable to the Tamil people.

Sri Lanka

No war in Sri Lanka - self determination for the Tamil people International on-line petition

On-line petition

Sign the petition at

http://www.petitiononline.com/ntwsdtp/petition.html

The Sri Lanka government is carrying out an undeclared waragainst the Tamil people who have been struggling for morethan two decades for the legitimate right to self-rule.

16


AidsTime to Deliver! - Julia Barnett - IV381 September

BelgiumLeft electoral alliance projects new left party - David Dessers - IV383 November

BoliviaUnity and Perspectives of Bolivian Left - Remberto Arias - IV374 January"The nationalisation of hyrdocarbons will be our first task" - Herve do Alto - IV374 JanuaryWill Evo Morales Change Bolivia? - Jeffery R Webber - IV374 JanuaryThe Morales government - Herve do Alto - IV375 February"A government of the poor, for the poor" - Juan Ramon Quintana - IV375 FebruaryA revolutionary process that is different - Hugo Blanco - IV376 MarchAfter the electoral triumph of the MAS - Herve do Alto - IV376 MarchThe challenge for Morales - Herve do Alto - IV377 AprilNationalization of Gas! Bolivia's Historic May Day, 2006 - Jeffery R Webber - IV378 MayEvismo - Reform? Revolution? Counter-Revolution? - Jeffery R Webber - IV382 October

BrazilA bad internationalism - and unenlightened ideas about the Brazilian PT - Joaquim Soriano - IV374 JanuaryConcerning a Polemic - Jan Malewski - IV375 FebruaryResolution on Brazil - IC February 2006 - IV376 MarchSocialists of the World Support Heloisa Helena - IV380 July-AugustFor an alternative in Brazil - Left Front - IV381 September2006 Elections - a profound political break - João Machado, José Corrêa Leite - IV383 November

BritainAbortion - defend a woman's right to choose - Terry Conway - IV375 FebruaryRough Music - Fred LePlat - IV376 MarchOne million strike to defend pensions - IV377 AprilThe crisis in working class representation - Greg Tucker - IV378 MayNo renewal for New Labour - Piers Mostyn - IV378 MayRespect breakthrough in English local elections - Alan Thornett - IV378 MayLatin America: a continent in revolt - Socialist Resistance - IV378 MayTwo victories for the Campaign against Climate Change - Terry Conway - IV379 JuneSocialist Resistance hosts Latin socialists - Andrew Kennedy - IV379 JuneMembership crisis ignored at Respect conference - Alan Thornett - IV383 NovemberA tale of two conferences - Alan Thornett - IV383 November

Broad PartiesWhere Does the Left Come From? - Magdelena Ostrowska - IV374 JanuaryA bad internationalism - and unenlightened ideas about the Brazilian PT - Joaquim Soriano - IV374 JanuaryDefending the SSP model - a reply to the SWP - Alan Thornett - IV374 JanuaryRifondazione "will support a Prodi government and take part in it" - IV377 AprilThe crisis in working class representation - Greg Tucker - IV378 MayRespect breakthrough in English local elections - Alan Thornett - IV378 MayNew Platform in the Scottish Socialist Party - IV379 JuneResistance and Revolution - Phil Hearse - IV379 JuneTake off without a left wing? - Manuel Kellner - IV379 JuneISG statement on the crisis in the SSP - International Socialist Group - IV380 July-AugustBroad Left Party Forms - International Viewpoint - IV382 OctoberLeft electoral alliance projects new left party - David Dessers - IV383 NovemberMilestone conference for Scottish Socialists - Terry Conway, Alan Thornett - IV383 NovemberMembership crisis ignored at Respect conference - Alan Thornett - IV383 November

CubaFidel and Trotsky - Celia Hart - IV378 MayThe revival of a political tradition - John Lister - IV381 September"It's never too late to love or rebel" - Michael Löwy - IV382 October

17


Listing by subject/country

Article Index - 2006

Index

DenmarkSocialist leaders arrested for 'terrorist' T-shirts - IV375 FebruaryDanish cartoons controversy - documents - IV376 MarchHuge demonstration against government welfare cuts - Aage Skovrind - IV378 MayAutonomous Youth House fights back - Aage Skovrind - IV384 December

Ecology and the EnvironmentTwo victories for the Campaign against Climate Change - Terry Conway - IV379 JuneResolution on Climate Change - IC February 2006 - IV376 March

EconomyWorld Economy - Tendencies and Tensions - Eduardo Lucita - IV375 February

EcuadorCorrea's triumph is victory against oligarchy and neoliberalism - Margarita Aguinaga - IV384 December

EuropeDeclaration of European Anti-Capitalist Left meeting - European Anti-Capitalist Left - IV374 JanuaryDefeat the Bolkestein directive! - Leonce Aguirre - IV374 JanuaryTogether against the Bolkestein directive - IV375 FebruaryEuropean parliament adopts Bolkestein directive - Patrick Tamerlan - IV376 MarchThe European trade union movement today - a rapid overview - Thadeus Pato - IV380 July-AugustCall for Anti-G8 mobilisation in Rostok - European Anti-Capitalist Left - IV381 September

EuskadiThe end of ETA - José Ramón Castaños "Troglo" - IV377 April

Fourth InternationalSolidarity with dismissed SEAT workers - IV375 FebruaryNotes on the situation in Latin America - François Sabado - IV375 FebruaryResolution on Brazil - IC February 2006 - IV376 MarchResolution on Climate Change - IC February 2006 - IV376 MarchDanish cartoons controversy - documents - IV376 MarchAid needed as IV's readership jumps 75% - Chris Brooks - IV376 MarchReport on the international situation - François Sabado - IV377 AprilAlain Krivine and Algeria - Alain Krivine - IV381 SeptemberInternational Viewpoint needs €3,670 - Chris Brooks - IV381 SeptemberPasta, politics and parties - Thomas Eisler , Penelope Duggan - IV381 SeptemberPre-electoral turbulence in France - François Sabado - IV384 December

France16th Congress of the LCR - IV375 FebruaryStudent movement puts government on the defensive - Murray Smith - IV376 MarchMassive turnout against labour law - IV376 MarchAnti-labour law movement enters key stage - Murray Smith - IV376 March"The question of a link between workers and students is immediate" - Daniel Bensaïd - IV376 MarchA government on the ropes - Murray Smith - IV377 AprilChirac and the government eat their words! - Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire - IV377 AprilThe white flag goes up - Murray Smith - IV377 AprilMarie-George, Arlette, José - what if we were to talk? - Olivier Besancenot - IV378 MayThe mass movement has defeated the government - what now? - Murray Smith - IV378 MayA Major Social and Political Crisis - Laurent Carasso - IV379 JuneAlain Krivine and Algeria - Alain Krivine - IV381 SeptemberPre-electoral turbulence in France - François Sabado - IV384 December

GermanyThe time of Alternatives - isl - IV377 AprilTake off without a left wing? - Manuel Kellner - IV379 June

GlobalisationCall for Anti-G8 mobilisation in Rostok - European Anti-Capitalist Left - IV381 September

18


Index

GreeceSeafarers open new period in workers' struggles - Pantelis Afthinos - IV376 MarchFighting neoliberal university reform - Panagiotis Sifogiorgakis - IV379 June

HungaryThe Crushing of the Hungarian Revolution - Phil Hearse - IV382 October

IndiaSlum dwellers organise against demolitions - Maya Valecha - IV374 January

IndonesiaBroad Left Party Forms - International Viewpoint - IV382 October

IranA Caliphate disguised as a republic - Houshang Sepehr - IV382 OctoberAn Islamic "Chinese model"? - Houshang Sepehr - IV382 OctoberShadow of war or war of shadows? - Houshang Sepehr - IV382 October

IraqThe Case for Immediate Withdrawal - Gilbert Achcar - IV374 JanuaryJoint Statement Issued by the Iraqi Trade Unions - IV374 JanuaryWhy America wants endless war - Phil Hearse - IV378 MayOccupation, civil war and the call for withdrawal - Gilbert Achcar - IV379 June

IsraelThe drive to normality and separation - Michel Warschawski - IV379 JuneThe witch-hunting of Tali Fahima - Lin Calozin-Dovrat - IV379 JuneIsrael's Dual Onslaught On Lebanon And Palestine - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-August"Israel is holding a whole population hostage" - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-AugustThe future of Israel is at stake - Michel Warschawski - IV380 July-AugustIsrael's new Lebanon war - Piers Mostyn - IV380 July-AugustTwin Battles - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-AugustThe Limits of Might - Michel Warschawski - IV381 September

ItalyItalian feminists defend abortion rights and women's self-determination - Maria Gatti - IV376 MarchWithout ifs or buts, even after 9 April - Sinistra Critica (Critical Left) - IV377 AprilRifondazione "will support a Prodi government and take part in it" - IV377 AprilA first balance sheet - Salvatore Cannavò, Franco Turigliatto - IV377 AprilA dangerous situation for Rifondazione - Flavia d'Angeli - IV378 May"The Project of Prodi's Centre-Left Union has failed" - Franco Turigliatto - IV378 MayWithdraw Italian troops from Afghanistan! - Sinistra Critica (Critical Left) - IV380 July-AugustChomsky, Tariq Ali criticise Rifondazione on Afghanistan, back antiwar MPs - Tariq Ali, Noam Chomsky - IV380 July-AugustAgainst the Italian intervention in Afghanistan - Franco Turigliatto - IV380 July-AugustNo Blank Cheque, Ours is a Clockwork "Yes" - Gigi Malabarba - IV382 OctoberA Vote of Confidence with a Time Limit - Gigi Malabarba - IV382 OctoberA parliament of just "giving the green light" is not a normal parliament - Salvatore Cannavò - IV382 OctoberIn the Chamber of Deputies: four against all! - Salvatore Cannavò - IV382 OctoberDraft Resolution on Afghanistan - Sinistra Critica (Critical Left) - IV382 OctoberThe Prodi II Government, the Radical and Pacifist Left, and the War - Jan Malewski - IV382 OctoberSupport the Livio Maitan study centre - Centro Studi "Livio Maitan" - IV382 OctoberDiscord in Rifondazione over confidence in Prodi - Salvatore Cannavò, Carlos Sevilla - IV384 December

Latin AmericaNotes on the situation in Latin America - François Sabado - IV375 FebruaryLatin America - a Continent Turns Left - IV375 FebruaryResistance and Revolution - Phil Hearse - IV379 JuneNew Challenges to Imperialism - James Cockcroft - IV379 June

LebanonIsrael's Dual Onslaught On Lebanon And Palestine - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-August"Israel is holding a whole population hostage" - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-August

Changing the Rules of the Game? Let it Be! - Revolutionary Communist Group - Lebanon - IV380 July-August19


Index

Israel's new Lebanon war - Piers Mostyn - IV380 July-AugustTwin Battles - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-AugustAgainst resolution 1701, against the sending of NATO troops - Gilbert Achcar - IV381 SeptemberHezbollah and Resistance - Marie Nassif-Debs - IV383 November"The Savage Anomaly" of the Islamic Movement - Niciolas Qualander - IV383 November

MaliNeoliberal Globalisation vs the Poor - Jean Nanga - IV376 MarchImpressions on the movement for global justice in Africa - Jean Nanga - IV377 April

MarxismThe party and the period - Daniel Bensaïd - IV376 MarchOn a Recent Book by John Holloway - Daniel Bensaïd - IV379 JuneMarx, Weber and the Critique of Capitalism - Michael Löwy - IV380 July-AugustThe Labor Aristocracy Myth - Charlie Post - IV381 SeptemberThe Mole and the Locomotive - Daniel Bensaïd - IV381 SeptemberThe Marxism of Trotsky's "Results and Prospects" - Michael Löwy - IV381 SeptemberDialectics and Revolution - Michael Löwy - IV381 SeptemberThe Challenge of Revolutionary Democracy in the Life and Thought of Rosa Luxemburg - Paul Le Blanc - IV381 SeptemberSupport the Livio Maitan study centre - Centro Studi "Livio Maitan" - IV382 October

May DayWhich side are you on? - Sharon Smith - IV378 May"The power to stop the system" - Nativo Lopez - IV378 May

International Manifesto Of The Undocumented - IV378 MayNationalization of Gas! Bolivia's Historic May Day, 2006 - Jeffery R Webber - IV378 May

MexicoZapatistas call Red Alert over state attacks - Phil Hearse - IV378 MayMexican miners and steelworkers on strike - Dan La Botz - IV378 May"Teachers killed" in Oaxaca police attack, says union - IV379 JuneMega March replies to police violence - IV379 JuneShowdown in Mexico - Phil Hearse - IV380 July-AugustOaxaca, solitary and in flames - Adolfo Gilly - IV383 NovemberOaxaca: final crisis of the "old order" - Manuel Aguilar Mora - IV383 NovemberMarcos: Oaxaca from above - and below - Subcomandante Marcos - IV384 December

Middle EastNew turbulence, new transformations in the Middle East - Gilbert Achcar - IV376 MarchTwin Battles - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-AugustThe sinking ship of US imperial ambitions - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-AugustThe 33-Day War and UNSC Resolution 1701 - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-AugustHezbollah's Victory (2000) - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-AugustThe Limits of Might - Michel Warschawski - IV381 SeptemberEleven Theses on the Resurgence of Islamic Fundamentalism - Gilbert Achcar - IV381 September

NepalThis is no rah-rah revolt - Tariq Ali - IV378 May

NetherlandsSpectacular Breakthrough for Socialist Party - Koen Haegens - IV384 December

NigerNeoliberal Globalisation vs the Poor - Jean Nanga - IV376 March

NigeriaUnions lead popular resistance - Danielle Obono - IV376 March

PakistanLPP demonstrators greet Bush - Farooq Tariq - IV376 MarchBrick kiln worker revolt against slave labour - Farooq Tariq - IV376 MarchGood Books opened by Tariq Ali - IV377 AprilWSF Karachi - A short report - Farooq Tariq - IV377 April

20



21

Left groups unite - Peter Boyle - IV377 AprilThe Karachi Social Forum and its international significance - Pierre Rousset - IV377 AprilGorja - a great victory for textile workers - Farooq Tariq - IV380 July-August

PalestineFirst Reflections On The Electoral Victory Of Hamas - Gilbert Achcar - IV374 JanuaryAriel Sharon's Last Victory - Michel Warschawski - IV375 FebruaryIsrael's Dual Onslaught On Lebanon And Palestine - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-August"Israel is holding a whole population hostage" - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-August

PeruOllanta Humala - Peru's New Hope? - Herve do Alto - IV377 April

PhilippinesThe Shadow of Martial Law - Revolutionary Workers Party - Mindanao - IV376 MarchAfter the State of Emergency - Pierre Rousset - IV376 March

PolandDeath on the road to a workers' party - Zbigniew Marcin Kowalewski - IV374 JanuaryWhere Does the Left Come From? - Magdelena Ostrowska - IV374 January50 years since the Poznan uprising - Zbigniew Marcin Kowalewski - IV379 JuneDefend Polish women's abortion rights! - IV382 October

PortugalVictory for the Right - Jorge Costa - IV374 JanuaryFrancisco Louçã's presidential campaign - Alda Sousa - IV377 April

QuebecQuébec Solidaire - the new option in Québec politics - Susan Caldwell - IV376 March

ReligionBritish media campaign's response - IV375 FebruaryDanish cartoons controversy - documents - IV376 MarchZero tolerance for reactionary forces - IV376 MarchThe Anti-Imperialist Left Confronted with Islam - Tariq Ali - IV376 MarchEleven Theses on the Resurgence of Islamic Fundamentalism - Gilbert Achcar - IV381 September

Revolutionary strategyChange the world without taking power? ... - IV379 JuneTwelve comments plus one more, to continue the debate with John Holloway - Daniel Bensaïd - IV381 September

RussiaRussian Social Forum Success - Aleksander Buzgalin - IV380 July-August

ScotlandNew Platform in the Scottish Socialist Party - IV379 JuneISG statement on the crisis in the SSP - International Socialist Group - IV380 July-AugustSSP is split by Sheridan - Socialist Resistance - IV380 July-AugustMilestone conference for Scottish Socialists - Terry Conway, Alan Thornett - IV383 November

SerbiaDossier - On Slobodan Milosevic - Catherine Samary - IV380 July-AugustSlobodan Milosevic: Architect of Yugoslav break-up - Alan Thornett - IV380 July-August

Social ForumAnother Africa is Possible - Matt Panthers - IV374 January"A breath of red air" - Édouard Diago - IV375 FebruaryWSF's Karachi leg later this month - IV376 MarchWSF Karachi - A short report - Farooq Tariq - IV377 AprilImpressions on the movement for global justice in Africa - Jean Nanga - IV377 AprilThe Karachi Social Forum and its international significance - Pierre Rousset - IV377 AprilNews from the European Social Forum, Athens - IV378 MayAn Unquestionable Success - Ingrid Hayes - IV378 MayRussian Social Forum Success - Aleksander Buzgalin - IV380 July-August

Index


22

South AfricaResistance to neoliberalism - Josep María Antentas - IV380 July-AugustLiberation, Then What? - Jeffery R Webber - IV381 September

SpainUrgent solidarity appeal for sacked SEAT workers in Catalonia - IV374 JanuarySolidarity with dismissed SEAT workers - IV375 February"We are a nation and we have the right to decide" - Revolta Global - IV377 April

Sri LankaThe tsunami - one year after - Niel Wijethilake - IV374 JanuaryFor the right to self-determination of Ilankai Tamils - Vickramabahu Karunarathne - IV384 DecemberNo war in Sri Lanka - self determination for the Tamil people - IV384 December

SwedenNarrow victory for the Swedish right - Anders Svensson - IV381 September

ThailandCrisis in the 'Land of the Smile' - Danielle Sabai and Jean Sanuk - IV376 MarchAn unending spiral of coups? - Danielle Sabai and Jean Sanuk - IV383 NovemberThe coup d'etat: a step backwards for Thailand and Southeast Asia - Danielle Sabai and Jean Sanuk - IV383 November

Tsunami TragedyTsunami, Katrina, Kashmir - Pierre Rousset - IV376 March

USATransit union shuts down New York - Steve Downs - IV374 JanuaryMillion march for immigrants rights in Los Angeles - Walter Lippmann - IV376 MarchWhich side are you on? - Sharon Smith - IV378 May"The power to stop the system" - Nativo Lopez - IV378 May

An Eruption in the Streets - Against the Current - IV378 MayElections and Regime Crisis - Against the Current - IV381 SeptemberJumping Through Hoops - Dianne Feeley - IV381 SeptemberIn the Aftermath of the Elections: First Thoughts - David Finkel - IV383 November

VenezuelaThe revolution seen from the left: Chavismo's original sin - Roland Denis - IV380 July-AugustIn support of the re-election of Chavez - IV382 OctoberIf we were Venezuelan we would vote for Chavez! - IV383 November

War driveOccupation, civil war and the call for withdrawal - Gilbert Achcar - IV379 JuneThe future of Israel is at stake - Michel Warschawski - IV380 July-AugustThe sinking ship of US imperial ambitions - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-AugustThe 33-Day War and UNSC Resolution 1701 - Gilbert Achcar - IV380 July-August

WomenAbortion - defend a woman's right to choose - Terry Conway - IV375 FebruaryItalian feminists defend abortion rights and women's self-determination - Maria Gatti - IV376 MarchJumping Through Hoops - Dianne Feeley - IV381 SeptemberA Tale of Two Cities - Kathy Lowe - IV381 SeptemberDefend Polish women's abortion rights! - IV382 October

Youth campA new generation to build a new Europe! - IV378 MayPasta, politics and parties - Thomas Eisler , Penelope Duggan - IV381 September

Index

Documents

International Viewpoint IV384 December 2006