>New Worker Online Digest
>
>Week commencing 9th June, 2000.
>
>1) Editorial - Rogues and scoundrels.
>
>2) Lead story - Defend Irish peace, don't dilute Patten.
>
>3) Feature article - Privatised rail services worsening.
>
>4) International story - Creeping fascism in the Czech Republic.
>
>5) British news item - Behind closed doors.
>
>
>1) Editorial
>
>Rogues and scoundrels.
>
>CLINTON'S recent visit to Moscow was trumpeted as a peace mission designed
>to make a breakthrough on the issue of nuclear arms control. in reality it
>was an American softening-up exercise aimed at persuading the Russian
>government to agree a modification of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM)
>Treaty in order to allow the US to set up an ambitious missile defence system.
>
> To justify its plan, the US asserts that there is "an emerging
>ballistic-missile threat that must be addressed". Where does this "threat"
>come from? According to the White House the danger comes from a number of
>countries it describes as "rogue states".
>
> The countries on the "rogue" list seems to vary. But the latest candidates
>appear to be: Iran, Iraq and People's Korea. Presumably we are supposed to
>imagine these countries as uncontrolled, dangerous beasts -- like some
>rogue elephant in one of Kipling's tales of the Raj that has to be
>dispatched by hunters with a well-aimed elephant
>gun.
>
> This lying propaganda is breathtakingly outrageous. It is the insult of an
>aggressor, the perverse accusation of an oppressor. For in each case it is
>the United States and its imperialist allies which pose the threats of war.
>
> People's Korea is said to be on the list because it has launched a
>satellite into space, showing that it has missile technology. Apparently
>this is a "threat" when the achievement is made by a socialist country but
>perfectly OK when done by the United States.
>
> But the biggest hypocrisy of all is that the United States maintains
>troops and weapons, including nuclear weapons, in the south of Korea at all
>times and carries out regular military exercises on Korean soil.
>
> And even as Clinton pours out his slanders against Iraq his government is
>busy murdering thousands of Iraqis by bombing raids and sanctions. The US
>and Britain have committed terrible crimes against the people of Iraq --
>they have proved beyond doubt that it is imperialism which should be
>condemned and vilified for being the real cause of war and suffering.
>
> The real reason these so-called "rogue" states are singled out is because
>they have not bowed down to the hegemony and various demands of the
>imperialist powers.
>
> The American and Russian governments both know that the US is not really
>afraid of supposed "rogue" states. They both know that the US is mainly
>concerned with extending its nuclear dominance of the world.
>
>That it wants a pretext to feed its own militaty industrial complex and
>that if any state causes it a feeling of unease for the future it is Russia
>itself -- a nuclear power (though not as militarily strong as it once was)
>which has many internal problems. From the US view it is unstable and
>therefore unsafe.
>
> The Russian leadership know their country is still the most likely target,
>and, to mollify the US President, they have pretended to play along with
>all the claptrap about "rogue" states and, through gritted teeth, have
>joined in the chorus.
>
> The Russians have not welcomed Clinton's plan for a US missile defence
>system. Instead they have suggested a joint defensive venture in which they
>would be an insider. They know too that if the Republicans were to win the
>US election the plan would be even bigger and the dangers arising from an
>amendment to the ABM Treaty even greater.
>
> This terrible grand design being spread out by the US ruling class, and
>supported by both political parties, is a serious threat to world peace.
>Any undermining of the ABM Treaty by the US would open the way to a new
>arms race and give impetus to nuclear proliferation.
>
> On top of that the working class and the poor of the world will be the
>ones to pay the bill in increased exploitation and damage to the environment.
>
> In the United States itself the working class can expect hard times ahead.
>The rich are fighting to keep their taxes low and argue for cuts in social
>spending. A growth in military hardware will waste billions of dollars and
>we can be sure these dollars will come from the poor and not the rich!
>
> *********************
>
>2) Lead story
>
>Defend Irish peace, don't dilute Patten
>
>by Theo Russell
>
>WEEKS of campaigning to ensure the Patten policing reforms in the Irish
>peace process are fully implemented, finally forced Secretary of State
>Peter Mandelson's hand earlier this week when he confirmed that the "spirit
>as well as the letter" of the new policing principles will be implemented.
>
> Proposed legislation currently contained in the Police Bill before
>Parliament effectively tears up the Patten Report. It had already fell
>short of nationalist and republican hopes, and Mandelson now appeals to
>have considerably modified his position. But as Sinn Fein's chief whip Alex
>Maskey had said in Belfast, they will not endorse the Bill until they see
>the completed legislation.
>
> The present Bill drawn up in Whitehall has provoked outrage and
>condemnation across the political spectrum, from the Irish government, Sinn
>Fein, the SDLP, the Womens' Coalition, the Alliance Party, and even the
>Catholic Church. Once again, the Unionists and the British government found
>themselves alone and out on a limb.
>
> Responses ranged from Sinn Fein negotiator Gerry Kelly, "This is not the
>Patten Report -- this is the Peter Mandelson Report," to the SDLP's Seamus
>Mallon, who said the Patten Report had been "gutted."
>
> Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams pointed to the role of those within the
>British system, with a more strategic view than Unionist politicians: "I am
>referring to the RUC insiders, to the securocrats, and to the Northern
>Ireland Office officials who have succeeded, at this stage, in subverting
>the establishment of a civic policing service."
>
> Tony Blair had earlier been rebuffed by US president Bill Clinton for
>making endless concessions to the Unionists reform of the RUC. While House
>officials explained that "to bow to Unionist demands on the RUC would be
>like leaving Alabama and Georgia under all-white cops.
>
> A group of MPs led by former shadow Labour spokesman for Northern Ireland
>Kevin MacNamara is attempting to have the bill sent back to the drafting
>stage. MacNamara told a meeting at the house of Commons organised by the
>Friends of Ireland that it would result in the new police service "being
>asked to police themselves."
>
> At the meeting Pat Docherty, vice-president of Sinn Fein and an Assembly
>Member, warned that "if we get Peter Mandelson's policing service we are
>heading for a disaster. If we do not get this right, we are going to move
>backwards rather than forwards, and nobody wants that."
>
> Docherty said that nationalists and republicans throughout Ireland would
>judge the potential of the peace process to remove the causes of conflict
>on how issues like policing were dealt with. He revealed that a member of
>the Patten Commission itself had told him of his "outrage" at the Patten
>Report's "emasculation".
>
> He pointed out that the Good Friday Agreement had been voted on by the
>people through out the island of Ireland, and that the British and Irish
>governtnents had committed themselves to implementing the Patten Report in
>their joint statement on May 5, which led in turn to the IRA's most
>far-reaching statement to date on putting weapons beyond use.
>
> "The key and the core of this," said Docherly, "is Tony Blair. The
>responsibility lies with him he has the power and the responsibility to
>resolve this. All of catholic and nationalist Ireland is watching the
>British government to do the right thing".
>
> If the issue was not resolved, he spelt out, "the whole process will begin
>to unravel" -- a messa ge which Blair and Mandelson would do well to heed.
>
> It remains to be seen how Mandelson proceeds with his view that the Bill,
>after all, "may not yet be perfect". An understatement which Gerry Adams
>highlighted when he launched a document detailing 75 adverse changes the
>Bill makes to the Patten Report.
>
> In effect the Bill, as it stands, re-writes the Patten Report from start
>to finish, giving the Secretary of State and Chief Constable enormous
>powers while down grading the Policing Board -- earning even the
>condemnation of the outgoing board!
>
> The Secretary of State is empowered to halt inquiries by, and remove
>members of, the Policing Board, and to take decisions or. the deployment of
>public order equipment. Responsibility for the new Code of Ethics,
>meanwhile, goes to none other than the Chief Constable!
>
> Patten's proposed minimum 10 years recruitment to the new service of a
>50/50 protestant/catholic mix is reduced to 3 years, and there is no
>mention of an independent recruitment agency.
>
> The District Policing Partnerships envisaged in Patten have been
>downgraded, in a shift from community-based policing to centralised control.
>
> The commitment to equal respect for traditions and beliefs proposed by
>Patten in the new human rights oath has been altered, and existing RUC
>officers are not even required to swear to this.
>
> Even the Patten Report did not include -- as republicans and others had
>hoped -- dropping the use of plastic bullets, an unarmed police force, the
>scrapping of emergency legislation, or banning members of the RUC guilty of
>human rights abuses from the new force.
>
> Campaigners present at the Friends of Ireland meeting were asked to lobby
>MPs and ministers to re-draft the legislation in line with Patten and in
>the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, and specifically to write to MPs
>asking them to express their concerns to ministers.
>
> The lesson behind this blatant flouting of hard-won agreement and the
>all-Ireland referendum is that the struggle for real change in the north of
>Ireland, and not least to reduce Britain's role, is a difficult and ongoing
>one.
>
> The Labour government's tactic may be to eventually end up at a half-way
>house between the Patten Report and Peter Mandelson's colonial re-write.
>The campaign must continue until a genuine new beginning is made in
>policing the north of Ireland, one which can sustain the peace process into
>the future.
>
> **********************
>
>3) Feature article
>
>Privatised rail services worsening.
>
>by Caroline Colebrook
>
>THE PERFORMANCE of more than half of Britain's 25 passenger rail services
>have deteriorated significantly during the last six months, according to a
>report published by the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority.
>
> This is based on new methods of calculating rail timekeeping and
>reliability which gives a more accurate picture of what commuters have to
>put up with. The main difference in the calculations is thatall the train
>performances are now taken into account instead of just the peak hour
>performances.
>
> The report also found that London's commuter train services are among the
>worst performers.
>
> The report showed that the performance of most passenger train companies
>was worse in the six months up to last March than it was during the same
>period the previous year and that 60 per cent of passengers believe they
>are not getting value for the fares they pay.
>
> South West Trains -- owned by Stagecoach -- was fined a record �4 million
>for its poor performance in the year up to last March.
>
> Connex South East and Connex South Central were fined �3.2 million for
>poor performance. This included �l million imposed on Connex South East for
>running trains without enough carriages, resulting in severe over-crowding.
>
> The train companies are claiming they are not to blame for poor time
>keeping and say the figures are inaccurate.
>
> A spokesperson for Conner commented that if things were so bad, they could
>only get better.
>
> Sir Alan Greengross, who chairs the London Regional Passengers' Committee,
>said the figures were "enormously disappointing".
>
> He added: "After all the recriminations, the exaltations, the promises,
>the assurances, to say nothing of the billions of pounds spent, the
>situation on much of the railways is not getting any betterbutactually
>getting worse."
>
> SRA chief executive Mike Grant said he could not offer commuters much hope
>of any improvement but the new reporting of performance statistics which
>give "a much more accurate performance measure of what the passenger
>actually experiences".
>
> Excuses given for bad time keeping included: the Paddington rail crash
>(extra services diverted elsewhere), leaves on the line, defective rolling
>stock, unofficial strike action by drivers, and track and signal breakdowns.
>
> Currently Connex South East are cancelling a number of services every day
>from lack of rolling stock. Faults were found in some trains and they are
>having to be withdrawn for checks.
>
> Meanwhile Railtrack, which owns and controls the tracks, signailing and
>stations, is demanding an extra �1 billion, mainly from taxpayers, to
>
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