> WW News Service Digest #151
>
> 1) General strike rocks Colombia
> by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> 2) Fiji resists imperialist sanctions
> by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> 3) Turkey: Prisoners, allies defy torture plan
> by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> 4) Korean activists visit Vieques
> by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> 5) Yugoslavia: Youths see war's devatation and people's resistance
> by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> 6) Is it 'practical' to vote for the Democrats? Marxism vs. pragmatism
> by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
>-------------------------
>Via Workers World News Service
>Reprinted from the Aug. 17, 2000
>issue of Workers World newspaper
>-------------------------
>
>GENERAL STRIKE ROCKS COLOMBIA:
>"WE WON'T CARRY THE RICH ON OUR SHOULDERS"
>
>By Teresa Gutierrez
>
>In a tremendous show of strength and growing militancy,
>700,000 workers participated in a 24-hour general strike in
>Colombia on Aug. 3.
>
>The very next day, in the belly of the imperialist beast,
>U.S. President Bill Clinton announced that he would travel
>to Colombia Aug. 30.
>
>Will Clinton visit Colombia to express his concern for
>Colombian workers, who face one of the highest unemployment
>rates in Latin America? Of course not.
>
>Clinton is making the trip to ensure that U.S.
>imperialism's war plans are in place. He's going to show
>support for the Colombian government--the very government
>that is undermining the living standards of the masses and
>conducting mass repression and terror.
>
>But Washington's plans clearly won't stop the armed
>revolutionary movement now fermenting in Colombia,
>including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-
>People's Army (FARC-EP) and the National Liberation Army
>(ELN).
>
>It won't stop the 700,000 workers who took to the streets
>in militant protest August 3. These workers, many of whom
>are peasants and Indigenous workers, carried out pitched
>battles with police and the army. They braved water cannons
>and tear gas, blocked roads, shut down factories and
>schools, and disrupted public transportation.
>
>The militant strike was initiated by public sector and
>transport workers unions to protest austerity measures
>imposed by the International Monetary Fund.
>
>The unions are also demanding an end to the privatization
>of state banks. They want a freeze on oil prices.
>
>GOV'T PLANS LAYOFFS
>
>This significant show of force by Colombia's workers comes
>on the heels of a government announcement of even more
>belt-tightening measures. Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia's
>new finance minister, recently pledged that the government
>would impose a budget of and tears" in 2001. The government
>plans to cut 5,000 more jobs and keep wage increases below
>the inflation rate.
>
>Strike leader Wilson Borja told the media, "This strike is
>a protest strike and a political act designed to send the
>message to the government that we're no longer prepared to
>carry the weight of the rich on our shoulders."
>
>It was the sixth major strike against Colombian President
>Andres Pastrana. With the country's economy shrinking 4.5
>percent last year and the official unemployment rate at
>20.4 percent, more strikes can be expected.
>
>In fact, union leaders called the latest action a warning
>strike. They plan to meet soon to set a date for an
>indefinite strike in the near future.
>
>The situation in Colombia is becoming ever more critical.
>Clinton's plan to travel there is yet another ominous sign
>that predatory, war-mongering imperialism is sharpening its
>fangs to bite hard.
>
>Clinton also signed a directive on Aug. 4 ordering an
>intensified effort to assist the Colombian government in
>implementing "Plan Colombia."
>
>"The Presidential Decision Directive," stated Clinton,
>"complements and supports the $1.3 billion assistance
>package that I requested from Congress."
>
>MOVING TOWARDS INTERVENTION
>
>The Aug. 4 directive is a full-scale endorsement of "Plan
>Colombia," a $7.5 billion initiative centered on
>strengthening Colombian Armed Forces, despite sweeping
>opposition inside and outside the country.
>
>The U.S. government claims the aid is for "fighting
>drugs." But the real target is the FARC-EP.
>
>Washington is moving rapidly towards a full-scale
>intervention in Colombia. This is what is behind Clinton's
>trip to Colombia and the directive signed last week.
>
>A key aspect of the directive is strengthening police and
>military forces. U.S. imperialism aims to squash the
>resistance in Colombia, much like it is attacking the
>burgeoning movement here. The police and military units the
>United States is sending money to are the same ones that
>attacked and beat workers during the general strike.
>
>Just like in the United States, money is being allocated
>for prisons and police, not for drug rehabilitation or jobs
>or youth services.
>
>The International Action Center has called for a united
>demonstration of progressive and anti-war groups to protest
>Clinton's visit to Colombia on Aug. 30. For more
>information, call the IAC at (212) 633-6646 or visit the
>Web site www.iacenter.org.
>
> - END -
>
>(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to
>copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
>changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
>Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message
>to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org)
>
>
>
>Message-ID: <00b301c00320$e45fe320$0a00a8c0@home>
>From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: [WW] Fiji resists imperialist sanctions
>Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 19:15:36 -0400
>Content-Type: text/plain;
> charset="Windows-1252"
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>
>-------------------------
>Via Workers World News Service
>Reprinted from the Aug. 17, 2000
>issue of Workers World newspaper
>-------------------------
>
>FIJI RESISTS IMPERIALIST SANCTIONS
>
>By Louis Paulson
>
>Once again the imperialist powers are using the weapon of
>trade sanctions against a small and poor country.
>Australia, New Zealand, Britain and France have already
>adopted sanctions against Fiji. They want to remove the
>Indigenous prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, and reinstate
>Mahendra Chaudhry, who was deposed on May 29 during an
>Indigenous rebellion.
>
>Because of the sanctions, 6,000 jobs have been lost since
>May, half due to layoffs in textiles and other
>manufacturing. The tourism industry has lost 1,700 jobs and
>is threatened with further losses.
>
>Fiji's dominant industry, sugar, lost money last year due
>to bad weather conditions. French President Jacques Chirac
>has now warned that if Fiji does not comply with the
>imperialists' demands, the European Union will stop buying
>Fijian sugar under the advantageous terms of the LomÇ
>Convention. This would mean economic disaster for Fiji.
>
>"We are unashamedly aggressive about it," Australian
>Foreign Minister Alexander Downer warned.
>
>Arizona Sen. John McCain has called for the "isolation" of
>Fiji. Establishment media like the New York Times agree
>with him.
>
>The legacy of British colonialism is behind the turmoil
>that has shaken this South Pacific country of fewer than a
>million people.
>
>During the colonial period, Britain imported indentured
>workers from India and settled them on Fijian land to grow
>sugar. Today, 44 percent of the population is composed of
>the Indo-Fijian descendants of those sugar workers, while
>51 percent are Indigenous Fijians.
>
>The Indo-Fijian workers were harshly exploited by the
>British, but were allowed to enter trade, while the
>Indigenous Fijians were barred from the money economy. Most
>of the land is owned by the Indigenous Fijians. However,
>they are forced by colonial-era laws to rent it to small
>sugar growers and other farmers for long periods at the
>lowest land rents in the world.
>
>Indigenous grievances over land, jobs and the role of the
>traditional chiefs were at the root of an uprising that
>broke out in May. During a demonstration of 5,000
>Indigenous Fijians demanding Chaudhry's resignation, a
>small armed group took Chaudhry and most of his cabinet
>members prisoner.
>
>This touched off a spontaneous uprising in many areas of
>Fiji. Hundreds joined the takeover. Some 187 shops were
>reported burned or damaged, and 269 people were arrested on
>the first day alone.
>
>In many parts of Fiji, villagers took over police and
>military barracks and seized weapons. Troops guarding a
>hydroelectric facility were disarmed by villagers with
>spears and knives. Two beach resorts were temporarily
>occupied by Indigenous Fijians. The main airport on the
>island of Vanua Levu was occupied for a time. The
>television station was sacked, and there was a rebellion
>and mass escape at Naboro Prison.
>
>On May 29, in response to this rebellion, the Fijian
>military declared martial law, voided the constitution and
>deposed Chaudhry.
>
>Speaking to a United Nations women's conference, Tania
>Woodward, an Indigenous Fijian, said, "The causes espoused
>by the rebels had a considerable amount of mass support,
>some of which was out in the open--thousands of people
>marched--some of which was implicit--the refusal [of the
>police and army] to act against the rebels. Strong feelings
>of resentment have been suppressed by Fijians for decades."
>
>Prime Minister Qarase has announced a program of
>reconciliation, and has called for Indo-Fijian
>participation in his government. Meanwhile, sanctions are
>damaging all the poor and working people of Fiji of all
>nationalities, and are contributing to the atmosphere of
>tension.
>
>The imperialist powers are the world leaders in racism and
>violence. They have no legitimate role in imposing a
>political settlement on the peoples of Fiji. Imperialist
>force, economic or military, can only further worsen the
>colonial legacy of division.
>
> - END -
>
>(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to
>copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
>changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
>Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message
>to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org)
>
>
>
>Message-ID: <00b901c00320$ff401340$0a00a8c0@home>
>From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: [WW] Turkey: Prisoners, allies defy torture plan
>Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 19:16:21 -0400
>Content-Type: text/plain;
> charset="Windows-1252"
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
>-------------------------
>Via Workers World News Service
>Reprinted from the Aug. 17, 2000
>issue of Workers World newspaper
>-------------------------
>
>TURKEY: PRISONERS, ALLIES DEFY TORTURE PLAN
>
>By John Catalinotto
>
>Protests by political prisoners, their relatives and
>supporters have greeted the Turkish regime's plans for new
>torture techniques in that country's prisons. Protest
>actions have taken place both inside Turkey and in Western
>Europe.
>
>Here's how one protest leaflet describes the new cells
>planned: "An isolation cell three-and-a-half meters long,
>two-and-a-half meters wide ... A window 70-90 centimeters
>thick with glass that cannot be seen through, and two iron
>bars ...
>
>"Also a metal plate with tiny perforations which do not
>let sunlight through ... A light is always on ... The whole
>cell is painted white ... A sink, a toilet and a bench for
>sleeping... That's all... Imagine a life in a few square
>meters of cell, 23 hours a day ..."
>
>Of the 70,000 people in Turkey's prisons and jails, some
>10,000 are imprisoned for their alleged participation in
>political organizations. These include Kurdish liberation
>organizations, socialist and communist groups in Turkey,
>and Islamic groups.
>
>Turkey, a NATO member whose government is applying to be
>part of the European Union, is notorious for extralegal
>fascist-style assassinations, laws that punish political
>opinion and terror attacks against prisoners. On Sept. 26,
>1999, at least 10 prisoners were killed as soldiers
>assaulted Ulucanlar prison and committed a massacre.
>
>Turkish political prisoners also have a reputation in the
>world movement for militant actions even while
>incarcerated. They stand up and fight back even against
>attacks by the military and guards.
>
>Despite the horrible conditions and physical torture
>inflicted on Turkish political prisoners, they at least had
>each other for support, living in dormitory conditions. Now
>the Turkish state wants to take that away in an attempt to
>break the political prisoners.
>
>The plan is to replace the dormitory-style prisons with
>individual cells. Turkey is copying techniques used in
>German and U.S. prisons to crush the spirit of the inmates.
>
>It is no accident that the Turkish regime is copying U.S.
>and German techniques. These two major imperialist powers
>have been the main international prop for the repressive
>Turkish military and the main international exploiters of
>the Turkish working class.
>
>In the Turkish Ministry of Justice's "Handbook on
>Management of Prisons" the authorities make their goal
>clear: "The terrorists must not communicate with each
>other. Because when the prisoner does not communicate he or
>she will die like a fish out of water."
>
>On May 24, Human Rights Watch--hardly a leftist
>organization--warned that the prototype prison set up at
>Kartal Special Type Prison in Istanbul will be harmful to
>prisoners kept in solitary or small-group isolation.
>
>Prisoners and their supporters began a campaign to stop
>construction of the new prisons.
>
>This Aug. 1 the Istanbul and Adana branches of the
>Association for Inmates' Families' Solidarity (TAYAD) began
>marching to Ankara, the capital, to protest the
>construction of these special prisons. These demonstrators
>clashed with the police, who arrested 25 people on Aug. 5
>in Ankara.
>
>Solidarity organizations in London and Hamburg have been
>distributing information about the struggle and the welfare
>of the Turkish prisoners. For more information, readers
>visit the Hamburg group's Web site at www.noisolation.de.
>
> - END -
>
>(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to
>copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
>changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
>Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message
>to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org)
>
>
>
>Message-ID: <00bf01c00321$16976ac0$0a00a8c0@home>
>From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: [WW] Korean activists visit Vieques
>Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 19:17:00 -0400
>Content-Type: text/plain;
> charset="Windows-1252"
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
>
>-------------------------
>Via Workers World News Service
>Reprinted from the Aug. 17, 2000
>issue of Workers World newspaper
>-------------------------
>
>KOREAN ACTIVISTS VISIT VIEQUES:
>20,000 DEMAND "U.S. NAVY OUT"
>
>By Berta Joubert-Ceci
>
>In an act of international solidarity, Kiyul Chung,
>secretary general of the Korea Truth Commission of U.S.
>Military Massacres of Civilians, and Jong Ryul Oh, chair of
>the National Alliance for Democracy and Reunification of
>Korea, traveled to Vieques, Puerto Rico, Aug. 5-6. Two
>reporters from the Korean daily newspaper Han Kyoreh
>accompanied them.
>
>The Korean delegates are leaders of the movement to evict
>U.S. troops from their training grounds at Maehyang-ri and
>all of south Korea. The residents of Maehyang-ri, like
>those in Vieques, have suffered from decades of explosions,
>injuries and pollution from U.S. weapons testing.
>
>Two weeks earlier, Ismael Guadalupe of the Committee for
>the Rescue and Development of Vieques visited Maehyang-ri
>and offered the Vieques movement's solidarity in the
>struggle to oust U.S. troops from south Korea.
>
>Emma Nieves of the Committee for the Rescue and
>Development of Vieques said Chung made a powerful talk at
>the weekly Saturday night vigil in front of Camp Garc°a,
>site of the U.S. training grounds, where 1,000 townspeople
>gathered to oppose a new wave of bombings.
>
>Nieves summed up the Viequenses' response to the Korean
>delegation: "A 100 percent greeting and appreciation from
>the people of Vieques."
>
>Jorge Farinacci, leader of the Socialist Front and one of
>the Korean delegation's hosts, told Workers World that he
>was impressed with Chung and Oh's solidarity and their
>direct contact with the masses. "Their presence in the
>island had a very important impact," Farinacci said.
>
>NEW WAVE OF BOMBINGS
>
>The Korean delegation's visit coincided with the second
>round of military practices undertaken by the U.S. Navy
>after the May 4 mass detentions of more than 200 activists.
>The protesters were forcibly removed from the restricted
>shooting range by Federal Marshals. They had occupied the
>shooting range for a year to prevent Pentagon bombings.
>
>The Navy has scheduled bombing practice from Aug. 3-24.
>The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, with its 15 ships
>and 12,000 soldiers, is to train in Vieques before its
>deployment to the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf. This time
>the Navy will use live ammunition.
>
>As soon as the practice was announced, Puerto Rican
>organizations called for a march and rally on Aug. 6. More
>than 30 organizations representing all sectors of Puerto
>Rican society banded together to organize the
>demonstration.
>
>On just five days notice, 20,000 people responded to the
>call for "U.S. Navy out of Vieques." The protesters also
>demanded freedom for those jailed earlier this summer after
>penetrating restricted areas of the U.S. base.
>
>The demonstration took place in front of the main gate of
>Ft. Buchanan. Many demonstrations have targeted this site
>since the Southern Army of the Southern Command was moved
>here from Panama last August. Opponents see the base as the
>center of the U.S. militarization of Puerto Rico, including
>Vieques.
>
>Groups that initiated the protest represent the broad
>popular opposition to the U.S. Navy's presence. They
>include the Socialist Front, Puerto Rican Independence
>Party, National Hostosiano Congress, Popular Democratic
>Party affiliates, Puerto Rican Workers Con fed eration,
>CAOS (Committee of Civic and Labor Organizations), All
>Puerto Rico with Vieques, religious groups and others.
>
>Organizers said the Aug. 6 demonstration was just the
>first in a round of activities geared to stop the Navy
>bombardments and eventually drive the Pentagon out of
>Vieques. In June the Pentagon had to cut short a six-day
>practice because of massive incursions of activists into
>the restricted area.
>
>U.S. Navy spokesperson Jeff Gordon warned Aug. 2 that it
>would be more difficult for protesters to enter the
>restricted areas this time. Gordon said the Navy had
>reinforced its surveillance operation and was working
>closely with Puerto Rican police to crack down on
>activists.
>
>A July 23 report by the Committee for the Rescue and
>Development of Vieques stated, "While the Navy espouses its
>Good Neighbor policy on its new Web site, every day they
>add barbed wire and dangerous razor wire to their fences
>that look more and more like the border between two
>countries at war.
>
>"Seven days a week, military personnel work on the fence
>that crosses the island from north to south, installing
>giant rolls of razor wire on the ground and on the top
>sections of the fence. They also install a very thick steel
>cable the entire length of the fence (approximately 6
>miles) to add strength before the probability of new
>entrances by our people into the Navy's restricted zone.
>
>"What the military people cannot understand is that there
>is not enough barbed wire in the world to stop the march of
>history which moves steadily toward the liberation of
>Vieques."
>
>32 PROTESTERS ARRESTED
>
>Sure enough, at dawn Aug. 7, 32 women, including 11 from
>Vieques, proved Gordon wrong.
>
>The group, including Norma Torres of the Committee for the
>Rescue and Development of Vieques, went into the restricted
>areas and planted several flags symbolizing Puerto Rico's
>and Vieques' self-determination and struggle against the
>Navy.
>
>All 32 women were arrested at 5 a.m. and taken to the
>Roosevelt Roads Navel Base on the big island of Puerto
>Rico.
>
>Dozens of Vieques residents who supported the action with
>a rally in front of Camp Garc°a were beaten by Puerto Rican
>riot police. The cops brutally tried to pull Luz Tirado,
>wife of former Vieques mayor RadamÇs Tirado, out of her car
>as she was driving. They were unsuccessful.
>
>The police blocked several vehicles that tried to follow a
>military bus carrying the arrested women.
>
>On Aug. 7 Guadalupe was scheduled to appear in Federal
>Court for a hearing on charges of trespassing at the
>restricted bombing area. He was the first of those arrested
>in June to defy the U.S. courts by boycotting his hearing.
>
>While visiting the U.S. Air Force bombing range in
>Maehyang-ri in July, WW learned that Chun Man Kyu of the
>Maehyang-ri Task Force for Closing the U.S. Bombing Range
>had a hearing scheduled for the same day. Chun, like
>Guadalupe, was arrested for setting foot on the restricted
>
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