USW Celebrates Release of Linares from Imprisonment in Mexico

From United Steel Workers

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) welcomed the release from jail today of Juan Linares Montufar, a union leader of the National Mexican Mine and Metal Workers Union – also called Los Mineros – who had been unjustly imprisoned since December 3, 2008.

Linares's unconditional release follows a week of union protests at Mexican embassies and consulates in more than 40 countries, including 17 cities in the U.S. and Canada.

"This is a tremendous victory for international trade union solidarity," said USW President Leo W. Gerard. Steelworkers in the U.S. and Canada have lobbied for Linares's release and provided support to his family.

"The unlawful detention of Juan Linares is a gross human rights violation that has brought shame and disgrace on the Mexican government," Gerard said. "We hope that Juan's release means that the Calderon administration will now drop all charges against the union's leader, Napoleon Gomez, and end its campaign of persecution against Los Mineros, the mine and metalworkers union."

Gerard adds that the Mexican government's authorities are not to be absolved, and the USW will demand reparations for Linares and his family. "As a union leader and a prisoner of conscience, we give tribute to his courage and heroism in standing up for his union."

Mexican prosecutors dropped bank fraud charges against Linares, the President of the union's Justice and Oversight Commission, after the former union members who originally made the fraud accusation withdrew it. German Larrea, the owner of the Grupo Mexico mining company - which has waged a five-year assault on the mineworkers union - had been ordered to appear as a witness March 2 in Linares's case.

The release of Linares comes as Mexican President Felipe Calderon is to meet with President Obama in Washington on March 3.

A fact sheet on the charges and imprisonment in Mexico of Juan Linares Montufar is available at: www.usw.org/.

Contact: Ben Davis, 412-562-2501 (O); 202-550-3729 (C); bdavis@usw.org

Features

Reds don't have to use blue language

Thursday 24 February 2011

by Solomon Hughes

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The anti-student fees protests brought new people onto the streets, and new ways of speaking with them.

Seeing Harry Potter-themed placards suggesting fees would bar entry to Hogwarts or were beyond the wickedness of Voldemort made me feel particularly old.

I know the Harry Potter books from reading them to my children.

The protesters knew them well from the other side of the bedtime booktime.

New protesters bring new energy and imagination, including a group of student protesters pushing against police lines with massive cardboard and sponge books.

Watching officers pushed aside by oversized copies of Negative Dialectics by radical philosopher Theodor Adorno brought new meaning to the phrase "words are weapons."

The prevalence of home-made signs by new protesters also brought a great deal more slang into the protests - putting the demotic into the demo.

Like the protester I saw carrying a life-size cutout picture of David Cameron with "Dickhead" and a crude picture of a penis scrawled across his forehead, or the more prosaic but forceful "Osborne, f**k off."

At the risk of waving a big waggy middle-aged finger of pomposity, I think there is a place for strong language in protests, but there is also a time to be more restrained.

Because my waggy finger really is getting old, some of my references are so historic that I have included explanatory extracts from my personal Solipedia, so that younger readers do not have to resort to Wikipedia.

My feeling is that strong language can help to express the feeling of the moment, but you need to use a little judgement about alienating some people.

I remember facing this issue when selling "Bollocks to the poll tax" T-shirts on the streets.

It was a good slogan reflecting popular rage, but we need to be careful not to be wearing out our swearing - and also about other issues.

The T-shirts were popular with teens, but if they were particularly young there was always an anxiety that some angry mum would remonstrate with us instead of demonstrate with us.

So the swearing is not always appropriate, especially not when the movement gets broader.

I was a Unison branch secretary for five years.

In the broadest movement - the trade union movement - you have the socially conservative next to life's natural anarchists and all shades in between.

Some people swear like troopers, some are deeply religious and are offended.

And it is often a surprise who is sacred and who is profane.

There is also no correlation between who is the best union militant and who is the most socially liberal, so the meetings have to be respectful to all.

It is all about judgement.

And the main judgement to make is that the left is organising a campaign to change the world, not change our lifestyles.

It is about organising the largest number of people into the most militant possible activity.

We should always choose the language that helps us do that, which means using the vernacular if it helps put over our case, but not if it puts people off.

In my judgement, there is one one special case - the "C-word."

By this I mean using c**t as a pejorative, not a descriptive - an insult ("you are a c**t"), rather than an actual reference to part of a woman.

The fees protesters showed a new willingness to "drop the C-bomb."

Slogans I saw included: "Cameron put the N in cuts" or the shorter "C**tservatives."

I think this is a special case because the C-word has a long association with misogyny.

The harshest profanity is intimately connected with womanhood.

Using the C-word as a swear word suggests that there is something bad about being a woman.

The 1811 edition of the Dictionary Of The Vulgar Tongue - a compilation of "buckish slang, university wit and pickpocket eloquence" - defines c**t as "a nasty name for a nasty thing."

The strength of the swearword relies on the strength of ill-feeling towards the feminine.

This is still a word that hates women and I don't think we should be using it.

I am all for banning the C-bomb, although we should approach those using it with a bit of generosity, not least because ideas and words can get jumbled up in a contradictory fashion - both the placards using the C-word I saw were carried by women.

This is not a new argument.

I can recall demonstrating with the Right To Work marchers outside the Conservative conference in 1982.

A group of young radiologists began chanting: "Maggie Thatcher's got one, Norman Tebbit is one."

They were gently told that their hearts were in the right place, but their mouths weren't - that the bad thing about Mrs Thatcher was not her womanhood and that they weren't just disrespecting Mrs T and Mr T, they were also disrespecting their sisters.

It was a debate held in a comradely fashion and the chanting changed. I would hope that the lessons of 1982 have not all been lost in the past 30 years, not least because we can always find new ways to insult our leaders.

In 1982 Robin Day accidentally enraged Tory minister John Nott on TV, describing him as a "here today, gone tomorrow politician."

Nott blew a fuse and embarrassed himself by charging out of the news studio.

When Nott was then seen entering the conference, 5,000 protesters surged forward and chanted with one voice to the "here we go, here we go" chanting tune: "Roooobin Day, Robin Day, Robin Day, Robin Day, Robin Day, Robin Da-ay."

If the name of the BBC's lead interviewer can become a humiliating insult, we don't need to use misogynist swearing.

Solipedia

The Uninteractive Encyclopaedia

(1) Norman Tebbit
Standard-bearer of the hard right in Thatcher's government.

A thin Eric Pickles.

(2) Robin Day
BBC interviewer and host of Question Time.

A cross between David Dimbleby and John Humphreys in a polka-dot bow tie.

(3) John Nott
Tory defence minister.

Imagine current Defence Minister Gerald Howarth, but not fancying himself as much.

PCP: Solidarity with the struggles of the Arab world

On the situation in the Arab world

Statement by the Portuguese Communist Party Press Office

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Portuguese Communist Party expresses its solidarity with the struggles and the popular uprisings in various countries of the Arab world, from the Maghreb to the Middle East, for employment, for better living standards, for social and labour rights, for freedom and democracy.

The PCP reaffirms its solidarity with the democratic, progressive and revolutionary forces which for decades resisted the oppression by regimes supported by the USA and the European Union and by organizations such as the Socialist International, and which are now integrating broad movements of popular struggle which - if their legitimate aspirations are fulfilled – will mark significant democratic advances in the Arab world and important defeats for the strategy of imperialist domination in North Africa and the Middle East.

While valuing the victories achieved by the Tunisian and Egyptian peoples, with the toppling of the dictators, the PCP warns against the dangers and attempts to condition and reverse the advances that the mass struggle has so far achieved. The PCP reaffirms the importance of intensifying the solidarity with the peoples' demands, such as the departure of all those who were linked to the oppressive regimes, profound changes on the economic, social and political levels and an end to foreign interference and submission to the interests of the imperialist powers.

The PCP condemns the repressions taking place in countries such as Yemen, Bahrain, Algeria, Morocco and Libya. The PCP calls for a peaceful solution to the domestic conflict in Libya and draws attention to the dangers which, in the context of a serious domestic situation, arise for this country's independence and territorial integrity, warning against the manoeuvres that are being undertaken by the USA, European Union and NATO, which illustrate the double standards of their policies and which are deeply disturbing as regards the risks of a foreign intervention in that country.

Confronted with the popular uprisings, and faced with a real threat to its interests, imperialism seeks to retake the initiative with a view to guaranteeing its domination of this region, safeguarding its profound links and the political, economic and military support for regimes that are subservient to it and with whom it may continue to share the exploitation of the Arab peoples and the control over immense energy resources.

The important events that are taking place in various Arab countries cannot be separated from the long history of interference and aggression by the USA and the big capitalist powers of the EU. The PCP denounces the profound hypocrisy and cynicism of the USA and the EU which, while clamouring for the respect for human rights and the peoples' rights, seek to conceal the fact that they are chiefly responsible for the most serious violations and disrespect for those rights, through their support and profound ties with the oppressive regimes that are its allies in the region, and for years of interference, strong military presence, aggression and war against Arab peoples, whether in Palestine, Lebanon or Iraq.

Contrarily to what the orchestrated campaign of disinformation seeks to portray, the USA and EU are not concerned with the respect for human rights or the legitimate aspirations and rights of Arab peoples. In fact, the recent veto by the Obama Administration in the United Nations Security Council vote on a draft resolution demanding an end to the construction of new Israeli settlements on Palestinian territories under occupation since 1967, has once again exposed the US Administration, laying bare its support for the colonialist and genocidal policies of the Government of Israel, which is its accomplice in the plans for domination of the Middle East.

The Arab peoples' historical breakthrough

Communist Party of Israel

The Popular Uprising

The Arab peoples' historical breakthrough

Decisions of the 13^th session of the Central Committee

February 19, 2011

The Central Committee of CPI salutes the mass popular movement for democracy and a dignified existence, which marks a breakthrough in the history of the Arab people. For the first time in 60 years, the masses have risen up and banished the pro-American tyrants, who trampled human rights, privatized governmental corporations, and created widespread unemployment and economic distress, while they themselves, along with a narrow stratum of capitalists and financiers, became rich. The banishing of the disgraced President Ben Ali from Tunisia, and of President Hosni Mubarak from Egypt have set into motion a broadening social and political campaign, which is spreading into other countries of the region.

The triumph of the popular political protests has been achieved thanks to the collaboration of workers fighting for fair wages and against privatization, of young unemployed university graduates, of women and of democracy-seekers. The unity of the civic campaign has defeated the powers of oppression and their thugs, and liberated the multitudes from fear and despair.

The ejection of dictators and the transformation of political discourse has dealt a severe blow to the United States' plans, although a battle is still underway about the character of the new regime. The regional configuration that the U.S. administration built over the past years, through its imperialist strategy, with the goal of guaranteeing the flow of oil and securing its military bases, has lost its power. This change may have rescued the peoples of the regions from future wars.

The first clear victory achieved by the popular uprisings is a change of discourse. No regime and no autocracy can continue to ignore the rights and desires of the peoples.

The popular uprisings in the Arab countries, like the progressive democratic changes in the Latin American countries are weakening global capitalism, which has condemned the peoples of the Third World to be cheap providers of labor and a source for quick financial gain.

The Central Committee notes, that the revolutionary uprising reinforces trust in the power of peoples to attain civil and social rights, and to weaken and even eradicate a regime that is linked to local and foreign capital.

The Central Committee estimates, that the popular uprisings in the Arab countries will have positive ramifications also for the campaign for a just Israeli-Palestinian peace, and also for the campaign within Israel itself to defend the democratic public sphere and to protect workers' rights.

The entire world – with the exception of the United States –

supports the Palestinian struggle for independence and for a just peace.

One hundred and thirty-five member nations of the UN and all the members of the Security Council, with the exception of the United States, supported (on February 18, 2011) the resolution submitted by the PLO to the UN's security council. The resolution demands cessation of construction in the West Bank settlements, including East Jerusalem, and the establishment of a Palestinian State within the June 4, 1967 borders.

President Obama vetoed the resolution and prevented it from passing. However, by doing so, he again demonstrated that his condemnations of construction in the settlements, and his declarations in favor of creating an independent Palestine were empty words. The American veto is an unequivocal act of support for the Israeli occupation, which sabotages international efforts to achieve a just and stable peace in the region. Therefore, this is a veto against the right of both peoples – the Palestinians and the Israelis – to throw off the yoke of the occupation.

The PLO's executive committee, by rejecting the threats and blackmail of Obama and his administration, and by insisting on bringing the resolution to a vote, reiterated its stance that the liberation of the Palestinian people and its right for a state is not open for negotiation. Insistence on this PLO policy, which no longer compromises the rights of the Palestinian people nor places its hopes on the U.S. administration, but instead enlists the masses - is the only way to end the Israeli occupation, which began in 1967.

The CPI's Central Committee regards the stance taken by the nations of the world against the settlements and occupation as confirmation of its assessment, that the revolutionary tide in the Arab world, and the chance of democratization of the regimes in Egypt and in other Arab countries will contribute to the campaign for international recognition of an independent Palestinian State within the June 4, 1967 boundaries, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and for a solution to the refugee problem in accordance with UN resolutions.

CPI calls upon the government of Israel to draw the inevitable conclusion arising from the sweeping international support for putting a stop to the settlement and the occupation, and from the new developments in the Arab world; to stop relying on a policy of domination and warfare; to extricate itself from reliance on an alliance with the United States, which only leads to isolation; to adopt a policy of peace and understanding between neighbors on which the safeguarding of the true interests of the people in Israel and of the Palestinian people, as well as those of all the nations of the region, depends.

A broad-based democratic camp is the only response to the authorities' attack on democracy

The Central Committee of the CPI warns that the assault on Israel's democratic sphere is becoming more and more acute under the leadership of the Netanyahu-Lieberman-Barak government. This is not only an attack by a incited mob against Arabs, refugees, and migrant workers, but a methodically planned governmental assault, in light of the crisis of its own rejectionist policies vis-à-vis he peace process, and in light of the social callousness of the Israeli governments.

Israel's democratic sphere has always been deficient: beyond the fact that Israel is a bourgeois democracy, it has been marked from the very beginning by acute discrimination based on nationality, which seriously limited the rights of the Arab population. Therefore, the CPI has always struggled to expand democracy in Israel. But our consistent struggle to expand democracy does not mean that we are indifferent to the danger of its total erasure. We are struggling against an assault upon the limited democratic sphere that does exist in Israel, since this is the space which we and all other progressive forces can still use as a platform for our political and social campaigns.

At the root of the present assault on the democratic sphere is a dangerous shift that the right wing is undergoing – with large sections of the established right wing openly adopting Kahanist , racist and anti-democratic positions. At the same time, the collapse of the traditional political center in Israel has greatly weakened the forces that in the past provided a counterbalance to the right wing. Under the current circumstances, a huge historical responsibility has been placed at the door of left wing forces – led by CPI and Hadash, to spearhead a campaign to consolidate broad-based actions against the dangers of Fascism.

But, despite the force of the anti-democratic assault, emanating from the highest echelons of political power, the battle for democracy in Israel is not lost. A large and powerful Jewish-Arab democratic camp does exist, and this is the time to shatter the air of despondence, despair and silencing, and to speak forth with a unified voice.

The demonstration by tens of thousands of people on January 15, 2011, initiated by CPI and Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality), proved that it is possible to mobilize the masses for a democratic struggle. The Central Committee notes the importance of the broad-based cooperation, that was evident in the demonstration and in its basic messages. The CPI expresses its appreciation for the Tel Aviv branch of CPI for the central role it played in organizing the demonstration and enlisting broad participation, and to members of the CPI and Hadash throughout Israel, for their important mobilization that made the demonstration possible.

A supreme strategic mission at the moment is to continue to consolidate a democratic camp, moving beyond ideological differences and political divisions, as a broad movement, which combines forces from the political arena and civil society, activists, political parties and civic organizations. The threat to the democratic spheres has, unfortunately, become a permanent aspect of Israeli reality, and in face of this reality, we must create broad-based and permanent collaborations.

The success of the democratic camp depends on its ability to create a broad collaboration between diverse forces, while building on a common foundation. At the same time, it is important to deepen and expand the meaning of the struggle for democracy in Israel. In our opinion, this struggle must be founded on three understandings:

The struggle for egalitarian democracy for all must include disempowered and beleaguered groups and social strata. In a society where attacks on the Arab national minority are a central component of the anti-democratic threat – the democratic camp must be an Jewish-Arab one.

Democracy must defend not only against racism and rejectionism toward the peace process, but also against the economic oligarchy and the links between finance capital and government, which undermine democratic norms for the sake of an economic policy that exacerbates socio-economic gaps, reduces workers to poverty, deepens national and ethnic discrimination, damages the health and education systems, harms the environment, women, senior citizens and children, and systematically erodes the middle and lower classes. Democracy requires solidarity and social justice.

The crisis of democracy is also one of the prices Israeli society is paying for the occupation which has lasted for more than forty years. For Israel to be a democracy – the occupation must end.

CPI's Central Committee calls upon all the organizations and members of the party, the members of Communist Youth and Hadash, to take action to consolidate broad Jewish-Arab democratic organizations in different parts of the country, at the universities and in work places.

The campaign for fair wages, affordable housing, and adequate health services and education

The Netanyahu government, which led the move to pass a bi-annual budget, under the pretext of preserving stability, was forced, under the pressure of growing demands, to announce a number of modest measures to reduce the prices of fuel, raise the minimum wages, and respond to a few other demands. But the Netanyahu government has not given up the policy of awarding tax breaks to the rich, privatizing the rail system, the ports and the electric corporation, nor has it retreated from taking steps toward privatizing health and education services. The government has rejected the demands for creating affordable public housing projects and has adopted recommendations that will reward the gas barons with the majority of the profits from the newly discovered offshore gas reservoirs.

The CPI supports the demands of the social workers, the nurses and the doctors, of the railway employees and of other groups of workers for a fair wage, and demands increases in the health and education budgets, while opposing the privatization initiatives.

The Central Committee calls upon all the party branches and the partners in Hadash to mobilize for the success of the important demonstration in Haifa (February 25) to advance campaign initiatives on social issues, to demonstrate involvement and engagement in workers' struggles, and to build as broad a partnership as possible against the policies in service of capital, CPI supports full compensation for prices rises, the raising of the monthly minimum wage to NIS 5000 ($ 1380), abolishing the water corporations and reducing the prices of water; CPI seeks recognition of the right to housing, implementation of the compulsory free education law from age 3 upwards and rejects national and gender discrimination in the work place and in wages.

In advance of the elections in the Teachers' Union and in the Histadrut Labor Federation

The Central Committee congratulates its activists, and the activists of Hadash in the Teachers' Union for submitting lists to the national convention and to branch committees. The CPI's branches must take action, together with its partners, to mobilize broad support of the Hadash List in the Teachers' Union.

The Central Bureau repeats its call to all of the party's organizations to tend to registering its members and friends as members in the Histadrut Labor Federation, as required by the time table: eligibility to vote in the elections for the Histadrut and Naamat convention in 2012 is contingent on membership in the Histadrut as of May 2011.

Side by side with the residents of Al Araqib in their heroic struggle

The Central Committee condemns the violent attacks by police forces and by the border police against the families of the unrecognized village Al Araqib, which has included the use of bullets and the injury of civilians, home demolitions, and the arrest of residents and of citizens who came to support their campaign.

The struggle of the residents of Al Araqib against dispossession from their land and against the attempt by the Jewish National Fund to plant a forest on their land is an important, just and democratic struggle, which is deserving of every support from any seeker of justice – Arab or Jew.

For the militant observance of Land Day

The Arab population and the Jewish democratic forces will observe the 35^th anniversary of Land Day on March 30.

CPI calls to place the campaign against the home demolitions at Al Araqib and at other locations at the center of this year's Land Day ceremonies, along with the campaign against racist legislation and racist trends, and in favor of protecting workers, children, young people, and the underprivileged social strata, which constitute the majority of Israel's Arab population.

The observance of the 35^th Land Day must clearly and forcefully express the struggle of the Arab population for peace, equality, democracy and co-existence that respects the rights of the national minority.

Canadian Peace Alliance Convention 2011

Canadian Peace Alliance Convention 2011
April, 29-May, 1

The Canadian Peace Alliance Convention will take place this April in Toronto. The Convention is a great opportunity for activists to get together, share strategies and plan our work to build the broadest and most effective peace movement in Canada.

Since we last met in 2008, the war in Afghanistan has deteriorated, Canada has extended its troop deployment and anti-war sentiment has grown. We have organized multiple speaking tours with international activists, notably Malalai Joya to tell Canadians the real story about life for the Afghan people. We have also watched as the Harper government has systematically tried to silence voices for peace and social justice in Canada. We have marched to end the siege of Gaza and in solidarity with the Tamil people and the Egyptian Revolution. We have developed a campaign to redirect military spending to human needs rather than war.

Each of these efforts requires more work to shape the political debates in Canada. Join us at the CPA convention to discuss next steps and to share your experiences building the peace movement.

» For member groups - Please note that Convention Resolutions must be submitted to the CPA office at cpa@web.ca by March 10, 2011

Find us on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=2695765401

YCLSA National Meeting

PRESS STATEMENT OF THE YCLSA NATIONAL LEKGOTLA

20 February 2011

The YCLSA held its annual National Committee Lekgotla from the 18-20 February 2011. This was the first constitutional meeting of the YCLSA after our successful 3^rd National Congress, and was attended by representatives from all the provinces and all the 52 districts of the YCLSA.

The National Committee Lekgotla was also taking place within the backdrop of a successful and youth-led revolution in Egypt which ultimately saw the fall of a 30 year dictatorship rule by Mubarak. The youth of this country, in the view of the Lekgotla, should draw lessons from the active involvement of Egyptian youth in the political affairs of their country. The lessons drawn from Egypt are symbolic of what happens when the socio-economic conditions of our people deteriorate, levels of corruption are rampant, inequalities deepen and the gap between the rich and poor widens. We also hope that those who are in power and the capitalist elite have learned lessons that as long as the conditions of our people do not improve, and that they continue to live a lavish lifestyle parallel to poverty, unemployment and HIV/AIDS, the poor would take their share of the cake. We hope that the youth of Egypt will not tire in ensuring that the military regime speedily initiates free and fair elections, and that ultimately, a government of the people and by the people is elected in that country. We also condemn the hypocrisy of the US in trying to impose a leadership that will bow to its dominance and control of the middle-east.

The National Committee also observed the concluded WFDY International Students and Youth Festival last year. We thank the many local and international delegates that participated in that festival, and will ensure that the declaration as adopted by the festival, recommitting youth formation to an anti-imperialist struggle, is implemented. We are worried that some of the issues being reported on how NYDA, National Lottery and government resources were abused for purposes of self-enrichment by individuals deals with the integrity of WFDY and cast doubt on the leadership of the NYDA and those of the festival organisers. We call on the auditor general to investigate the entire procurement process of the festival, including later reports that public funds were abused in organising private festivals, and that individuals who are found to be guilty of having misappropriated funds are brought to book.

The Lekgotla was pleased with the turn out of thousands of South Africans who went to register to vote in the forthcoming local government elections. These elections are yet another opportunity for our people to participate meaningfully in the election of their local leaders. We have interacted with the Election manifesto process of the ANC, we will continuously input to ensure that the needs, interests and aspirations of our people are covered. We are worried, as reports and accounts by many of our members and activists were given in the Lekgotla, that there seems to be in some instances an abuse of the public participation process in the nomination and election of candidates for counsellors. In some instances, there are incidents of violence and abuse which will ultimately drive away the public from this democratic and open process. The ANC belongs to the people, and that those who are elected in its various structures should never undermine the will of the people. In the same vein, we condemn the assault of the ANC provincial secretary in the Eastern Cape and many other isolated and disruptive incidents related to the local government.

We also condemn the killing of people in KwaZulu Natal who are said to be leaving the IFP to the new NFP. We hold no brief for Zanele Magwaza, but any violence meted against people who express their democratic views should be condemned, lest it take us back into the 80’s and 90’s, or even worse, degenerate our politics into violence.

We are pleased that many young communists and communists who are members of the ANC have been nominated to become counsellors nationally, and know that they will ensure, upon their election, the implementation of the Manifesto of the ANC and the needs and interests of our people. This is the confidence required from our people to ensure that clean governance, government of the people, broad people participation, quality service delivery and jobs for youth are realised.

On our part, we will continue to mobilise young people to apply for ID’s and register in the second weekend that will be opened by the IEC. We call on the IEC to intensify its mobilisation and messaging in order to ensure that all our people turn up for registration. We will in the course of time release our Local Government Election campaign programme.

The National Lekgotla expressed its confidence and welcomed both the State of the Nation Address and the Reply by the President. We are especially pleased that government has ultimately prioritised the creation of jobs as the most important task in the next four years. We are also pleased that most of the resolutions from our Jobs for Youth Summit will be implemented through the various policy interventions and government spending in the economy. We particularly welcome the firm move towards industrialisation, investment in public infrastructure, beneficiation, movement towards the establishment of a State Owned Mining Company, the creation of a state bank through expanding the role and focus of Post Bank, dedication of R9bn to youth entrepreneurship and the commitment towards decent jobs. All of these were central to our resolutions in the Jobs for Youth Summit. Included in this, we will intensify our call for the complete banning of labour brokers as a new form of slavery, and ensure that quality jobs for all are created.

We are also pleased that the president committed government to provide free sanitary towels for poor women, a campaign the YCLSA initiated and engaged with various government departments, progressive youth alliance and civil society three years ago. Every cent spent on sanitary towels will go a long way in ensuring that we implement the Millennium Development Goals focusing on education, healthcare and the Maternal mortality rate

We also welcome commitment by government to ensure that education is made accessible and is of quality. We agree with the President that the state of education in the Eastern Cape in particular is almost a disaster, and that all stakeholders in that province and nationally should move towards ensuring that this situation is reversed through restoring learning, teaching, school feeding schemes, infrastructure improvements and provision of textbooks in time. We declare it being criminal to deny the child in the Eastern Cape and anywhere else their education.

The National Lekgotla received inputs from the Minister of Health, and in that regard, we are concerned with the state of public health institutions in our country. We are worried by the mortality rate, and the fact that many of the deaths in our country could have been prevented had we stopped with multiple and confusing messages on HIV/AIDS. We maintain our call that those who presided over this state of affairs should be held accountable for having led to so many deaths. We call on all young people to ensure that they know their status by testing for HIV/AIDS, and thus help to prevent the scourge of this dreadful disease.

We call on all stakeholders to ensure that we hold our hospital accountable on the six standards as laid by the Minister of Health. We will in the near future be announcing details into our contribution towards the introduction of a National Health Insurance (NHI). This is not going to be an easy battle, but we will ensure that the profits of health care monopolies and their dominance of the health sector are finally broken, and that a people’s health system is brought into place.

The National Lekgotla discussed the New Growth Path, and endorsed the five job drivers as proposed in the document. We however share the concern that the NGP does not represent a shift in the macro-economic paradigm, and will therefore be developing a further and detailed response in this regard.

The National Committee also elected its National Working Committee and appointed full-time officials to be based at the National Office. We will also be intervening into our structures to ensure that they are vibrant, campaigning and implement our resolutions. The National Committee further committed itself in ensuring that we have a successful 90^th Anniversary Celebrations of the SACP, our mother body, and champion of the working class.

Issued by the YCLSA Head Office

For more information

Contact

Gugu Ndima

National Spokesperson

0767831516

Republicans vs. Women

Top 10 Shocking Attacks from the GOP War on Women

1) Republicans not only want to reduce women's access to abortion care, they're actually trying to redefine rape. After a major backlash, they promised to stop. But they haven't.

2) A state legislator in Georgia wants to change the legal term for victims of rape, stalking, and domestic violence to "accuser." But victims of other less gendered crimes, like burglary, would remain "victims."

3) In South Dakota, Republicans proposed a bill that could make it legal to murder a doctor who provides abortion care. (Yep, for real.)

4) Republicans want to cut nearly a billion dollars of food and other aid to low-income pregnant women, mothers, babies, and kids.

5) In Congress, Republicans have proposed a bill that would let hospitals allow a woman to die rather than perform an abortion necessary to save her life.

6) Maryland Republicans ended all county money for a low-income kids' preschool program. Why? No need, they said. Women should really be home with the kids, not out working.

7) And at the federal level, Republicans want to cut that same program, Head Start, by $1 billion. That means over 200,000 kids could lose their spots in preschool.

8) Two-thirds of the elderly poor are women, and Republicans are taking aim at them too. A spending bill would cut funding for employment services, meals, and housing for senior citizens.

9) Congress voted yesterday on a Republican amendment to cut all federal funding from Planned Parenthood health centers,one of the most trusted providers of basic health care and family planning in our country.

10) And if that wasn't enough, Republicans are pushing to eliminate all funds for the only federal family planning program.(For humans. But Republican Dan Burton has a bill to provide contraception for wild horses. You can't make this stuff up).

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE 3RD INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CONGRESS IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE FIVE CUBAN HEROES UNJUSTLY IMPRISONED IN UNITED STATES JAILS.

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE 3^RD INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CONGRESS IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE FIVE CUBAN HEROES UNJUSTLY IMPRISONED IN UNITED STATES JAILS.

The Young Communist League, on behalf of every youth movement and student organization in our country, summons the youth and students associations, and in general every young men or women with good will in the World, to unite, as in many occasions, for the defense of truth and justice.

The struggle for the release of this Five Heroes from prison represents a battle for the truth and against terrorism. The objective is to break the wall of silence imposed by the government of the United States to public opinion on this matter, to denounce the manipulation and the lie of a biased and unjust trial and to demand the immediate freedom of our five brothers.

Imperialism continues to level all its disdain against human dignity with total irrationality; arbitrarily ignores all the statements from international organizations and creates all kinds of legal and political barriers that hinder the finding of a solution to free the Five. Only actual mobilization of public opinion will make possible the necessary influence to achieve the justice our people is fighting for today.

Humanity is living a critical moment of its history and we as the youth are responsible for this victory for the sake of the future.

This forum will be in favor of five men that combine the highest values of dignity, altruism, courage and solidarity.

We invite you all to celebrate this event on June 12^th, and 13^th, 2011, celebrating the 3^rd International Youth Congress in Solidarity, in Havana, Cuba.

Our youth and our people will be proud to welcome you, in order to exchange experiences together and meditate about ideas that must be multiplied to achieve the victory in this battle.

Freedom for the Five Heroes!

Freedom for the Truth and Justice!

Until Victory Always!

Young Communist League

YCLSA STATEMENT ON THE BUDGET SPEECH

YCLSA STATEMENT ON THE BUDGET SPEECH

23 FRIDAY 2011

The Young Communist League of South Africa (UFasimba) notes the budget speech delivered by the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan. This in our view, is a youth oriented budget which has taken into consideration the millions of young South Africans despondent as a result of the socio-economic disparities, still characterising the South African Economy. As the Minister said in his own words “there are millions of young people who cannot see a realistic prospect for a decent life”.

We firstly welcome the Minister’s proposed measures, which will be put in place to accelerate Job creation and Skills development. An amount of almost R150 billion has been allocated specifically for Job Creation and skills development. This affirms the commitment of our government on employment and training of young people. We welcome specifically the R14 Billion allocated to further education and Training colleges which were normally neglected in the past, to assist thousand of students in need of financial assistance. The money will go a long way in realising our call as the YCLSA for the training of 100000 artisans and training of young people in various technical driven skills-jobs which will enable them to be absorbed in the market.

The R6 Billion allocated to NSFAS in our view should be able to flow directly to the thousand of students in institutions of higher learning; this will also bring the realisation of free education sooner than anticipated. We call for the capacitating of the NSFAS Office and more importantly local offices which are expected to deliver to students in Institutions of higher learning, promptly.

The YCLSA is pleased that measures have now been put in place for the implementation of the NHI; the quality of the Public Health sector remains a key driver for the success of the NHI. We believe that the budget allocation will ensure the swift roll out of the NHI programme.

The Minister has also committed government in lowering bank charges and holding financial institutions accountable; this will assist in getting money back into the pockets of the poor who have been exploited and defrauded by banks through inflated pricing.

We express our concern that the entire economic budget falls within the macro economic paradigm where the major objective is inflation targeting and the lowering of interest rates. We hope that the Alliance summit which is scheduled to start tomorrow, will look into policy issues which remain neo-liberal and market driven.

We are very concerned with the high levels of Social Security expenditure which has taken 20% of the budget. This 20% could be used to stimulate active participation of millions of South Africans in the mainstream of the economy. The Minister should review this in the next MTBP and see what alternatives can be put in place to curb dependency on the state by millions of South Africans.

The affirmation of rooting out corruption remains vital to the success of government and ensuring efficient service delivery. We welcome the proposed review of the procurement system of government and believe that it will assist in routing out unbecoming civil servants who see the government as a cash cow. This will further restrict government officials in doing business with government or at the expense of government

As part of the process of consultation on the Proposed Youth Subsidy, we will continue to oppose it. We will look into the various ways in which the money set to be allocated for it ,can be used or directed towards youth initiatives .

Issued by the YCLSA Head Office

Contact

Gugu Ndima

National Spokesperson

076 783 1516

Resolution of Solidarity with the Western Saharawi People

The following resolution was adopted by the Vancouver & District Labour Council at it's February meeting. It was drafted and recommended by the Young Workers Committee, many members of which attended the 17th World Festival of Youth & Students, where the Western Saharawi struggle was highlighted.

Because the Western Sahara has been Occupied by Morocco since 1974 and before that, was occupied by Spain

and

Because the Western Saharawi want independence from Morocco in order to become a self governing body

and

Because the VDLC is a leader in matters of international solidarity

and

Because the Western Saharawi are being brutally beaten and tortured and imprisoned by the Moroccan government,

The VDLC will support the campaign to liberate the Western Saharawi political prisoners in Moroccan prisons and will support the fight of the Western Saharawi for independence.

Canadian Military Exports to the Middle East & North Africa

From COAT (Coalition to End the Arms Trade)

For decades, Canadian governments--Conservative and Liberal alike--have preached peace and human rights, while facilitating the steady flow of weapons, ammunition, tear gas, armoured vehicles and many other military and so-called "security" products to repressive, undemocratic regimes in the Middle East and North Africa. These governments are responsible for widespread, violent and systematic abuses of human rights, such as torture and murder. By exporting military and police products to these countries, Canada is complicit in aiding and abetting numerous authoritarian, U.S.-backed regimes that maintain a tight grip on power through propaganda, intimidation and sheer brute force.

Inspired by popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, and growing protests throughout the region, the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) has compiled information on military exports and produced data tables for 16 recipient countries in the Middle East and North Africa. COAT's tables show the value of "Munitions" in 22 categories from "Group 2" of Canada's "Export Control List," as published in reports by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) called "Export of Military Goods from Canada."

Here are links to the individual country tables showing Canada's munitions exports:
Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Yemen

According to DFAIT's official reports--which unfortunately only document some of Canada's military exports--the Canadian government permitted military sales valued at more than $1.8 Billion to the Middle East and North Africa between 1990 and 2006. (The Government of Canada has failed to produce any reports since 2009, when it released data on 2006.) Unfortunately, DFAIT's reports do not document the export of any "dual use" military products, even when these have been sold directly to the armed forces of foreign governments. Neither do DFAIT's reports include any data on military exports to the U.S., despite the fact that: (1) the U.S. receives about 3/4 of Canada's military exports, and (2) Canadian military products are assembled into complete weapons systems in the U.S. and are then re-exported to other countries. Because of the inadequacies in DFAIT's transparency on Canadian arms exports, the data assembled in COAT's tables is--regrettably--incomplete. However, this is the best publicly-available information on Canada's military exports to the Middle East and North Africa.

Human Rights: To accompany its data tables on military exports, COAT has also produced lists of web resources on human rights abuses for each of the 16 Middle East countries receiving military and/or police products from Canada. These resources contain ample evidence to corroborate the assertion that Canada should immediately stop exporting the tools of war and repression to states where military and police forces have impunity, and where human rights abuses are so extreme and endemic.