>more, they are daring to say that they want the U.S. troops >out. > >There are 70 million Korean people. United, they certainly >could carve out their own destiny and get rid of foreign >oppressors once and for all. > > - 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: <00ac01bfe09f$9c67e660$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Korea's 'Vieques': Thousands demand yankees go home >Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 21:24:31 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the June 29, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >KOREA'S "VIEQUES": THOUSANDS DEMAND: YANKEES GO HOME! > >By Andy McInerney > >n a fierce display of anti-imperialism, thousands of >Koreans clashed with riot police on June 17 in Maehyang-ri, >south Korea. Their target was the U.S. Air Force Koon-ni >bombing range, occupied by the Pentagon since the Korean >War. > >Auto workers from the Kia Motor Co., steeled in labor >battles over the past year, joined with students and >community residents at the 4,000-strong demonstration. They >chanted "Yankee go home" and "This is our land! Drive out >U.S. troops!" > >The slogans reflected the fact that there is a mature >anti-imperialist movement in Korea. That movement has >fought against the U.S. occupation for decades. > >With thousands of riot police guarding the base, about 500 >demonstrators broke through the fence and headed toward the >facility. > >"Destroy the base," they chanted. At least 20 >demonstrators were wounded in the ensuing battles. > >Residents of Maehyang-ri have long suffered from the >Pentagon's bombing practices. Over the years, at least nine >Koreans have been killed as a result of the exercises. > >In 1968, four local children were killed as they played >with an unexploded bomb. > >In May, six U.S. bombs landed near the homes of Maehyang- >ri residents. Six people were injured and houses were >damaged in that "accident." > >That incident opened a new wave of protests against the >Pentagon occupation of Korean land. The Pentagon arrogantly >offers to relocate part of the village rather than move its >base. > >On June 19, after a short reprieve during the north-south >summit, the Pentagon resumed bombings and strafings with F- >16s. Hundreds of residents and students again clashed with >police. > >"We will enter the range and defend it with our bodies," >one veteran activist warned. > >The struggle over the Koon-ni range comes amid growing >anti-imperialist sentiment across Korea. A number of >atrocities committed by U.S. occupying forces have been >widely publicized in recent weeks. > >On June 16, a U.S. soldier was sentenced to eight years in >prison for killing a bar hostess--although he remains in >U.S. protection while he appeals the verdict. > >Three weeks earlier, a U.S. officer was arrested with his >father for raping a bartender in Taegu. In May an Air Force >captain was caught smuggling cocaine into Korea. > >And on June 8, Petty Officer 1st class James Fuhrman was >sentenced to life in prison for murdering his Korean-born >wife and son. Fuhrman burned the bodies after the 1998 >murders. > >These outrages come at the same time that hopes have been >raised about better relations with the socialist north. >Millions are questioning the need for the 37,000 U.S. >troops that have remained in the south since 1953. > >The militant June 17 demonstration came the same day that >56 Puerto Rican activists were arrested at the Pentagon's >training grounds in Vieques, a small island that is part of >Puerto Rico. Since a civilian was killed April 19 last >year, Puerto Ricans--both in the nation occupied by U.S. >imperialism since 1898 and in the United States--have waged >a mass campaign against the U.S. Navy's presence there. > >U.S. imperialism's far-flung empire, with bases in every >corner of the world, is like a castle built on sand. Its >strength is also its weakness: It is vulnerable to popular >resistance at any point and at any time. > >The Pentagon bombings put U.S. imperialism in a direct, >headlong confrontation with the residents of Maehyang-ri >and their allies in the powerful, militant labor and >student movements. > >The gain in consciousness is already being felt. "We can >make it without the U.S. troops," Maehyang-ri farmer Park >Song-Rim told the French News Agency on June 19. "They >should leave without delay." > > > > - 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: <00b201bfe09f$c2a1aaa0$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Toronto unions back homeless fight against cutbacks >Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 21:25:35 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the June 29, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >TORONTO: UNIONS BACK HOMELESS FIGHT AGAINST CUTBACKS > >By G. Dunkel > >Some 1,500 protesters--mainly homeless people and union >members--brought their demands to the Ontario Parliament in >Toronto June 15. They wanted to explain to Parliament that >its policies of cutting welfare, making evictions easier, >allowing landlords to jack up rents on vacant apartments >and failing to build public housing had caused 20 homeless >people to die during the past winter in Toronto. > >These policies have been adopted without hearings, >witnesses or even debate under rules decided by the >Conservative Party government of Ontario Premier Mike >Harris. > >On June 15 the cops decided to enforce the rule that only >foreign dignitaries can talk to the Ontario Parliament. >They blocked the protesters' way. > >During the battle that ensued, police arrested 18 >protesters. According to the Ontario Coalition Against >Poverty, which spearheaded the demonstration, some >protesters who suffered broken limbs were treated by >sympathetic doctors outside hospitals. Police reported that >eight horses and 28 cops went to the hospital for >treatment. > >OCAP says the demonstration "will mark the beginning of a >summer of resistance.'' > >The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which provides 10 >percent of OCAP's funding, condemned the "violence" and >told the local newspaper, the Ottawa Citizen, that it will >stop this funding. > >But Canadian Union of Postal Workers President Dale Clark >offered unqualified support to the coalition and said he's >seen nothing to suggest the union should stop funding the >group. > >"We're supporting a group that's been fighting against >poverty,'' he said. "From the reports that I've seen, it >appears that the protesters were the ones that were >injured.'' > >George Kuehnbaum, another spokes person for CUPW, said >that many members were at the protest and the postal union >supports both the aims of the protest and its organizers. > >"Mike Harris has consistently refused to meet with [OCAP]. >He refused again this week,'' said Kuehnbaum. > >"That's what started the confrontation. Toronto is >becoming the homeless capital of North America.'' > > - 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: <00b801bfe09f$d7f0d610$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Workers around the world: 6/29/2000 >Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 21:26:11 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the June 29, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >WORKERS AROUND THE WORLD > >ARGENTINA: GEN'L STRIKE VS. IMF > >Nine out of every 10 Argentinean workers stayed home on >June 9 in a massive rejection of International Monetary >Fund economic policies. The one-day strike shut down the >giant South American country, leaving streets in every >major city empty and littered with uncollected trash. > >"This is a strike from the heart of the people," General >Confederation of Labor (CGT) leader Hugo Montoya declared. > >The strike's immediate cause was President Fernando de la >Rua's announce ment of an economic plan that would raise >taxes and slash salaries of public-sector workers by up to >15 percent. The move comes after he gutted labor >protections and imposed austerity measures after his >inauguration six months ago. > >The IMF dictated these harsh measures as conditions for a >$7.2 billion emergency credit line. De la Rua admitted as >much when he whined after seeing the strike's success, "How >can someone think I would have taken [the measures] if they >were not necessary?" > >Fifty-three strikers were arrested in clashes with police. > >The June 9 general strike was the second in recent weeks. >In May, hundreds of thousands of workers hit the streets to >fight de la Rua's anti-labor legislation. > >This strike achieved widespread unity among Argentina's >main union federations. In addition to the CGT wing headed >by the militant Montoya, the more moderate wing of the CGT >and the Argentine Workers Confederation backed this strike. > >This widespread unity reflected the focus on the IMF as the >main enemy. Montoya warned on the eve of the strike, "We >have to change this economic model that starves and kills >our sisters and brothers." > >BOLIVIA: THOUSANDS DEMAND UNIVERSITY > >About 100,000 residents of the city of El Alto descended on >Bolivia's capital, La Paz, on June 12 to demand an >independent university in their region. They also brought a >range of other demands for the development of El Alto. > >The Alte�idad Assembly called the march--which drew >widespread support from the impoverished city of 500,000 >neighboring La Paz. > >The government has offered to build a university in the >area, but insists that it be a branch of La Paz's San >Andreas University. The residents of El Alto, predominantly >of the Aymara Indigenous nationality, insist on an >autonomous university. > >The Alte�os also demanded a general hospital, a stadium, >and a say in the tolls for roads through their city. > >ECUADOR: STRIKE AGAINST THE DOLLAR > >Tens of thousands of Ecuadorians answered the call for a >48-hour strike beginning June 15. The Coordination of >Social Organizations--an umbrella of unions, peasant, and >community groups-- and the Popular Front initiated the >action. > >The strikers protested President Gustavo Noboa's plans to >"dollarize" the economy. Noboa wants to replace the sucre >with the U.S. dollar as the national currency. Workers' and >peasants' groups charge that the move will decimate their >purchasing power. > >Doctors, teachers, electrical and oil workers, and students >joined the protests on the first day. Indigenous peasants >blocked roads in the northern and southern regions of the >country. > >Four protesters were injured and 10 arrested in clashes >with the police in Quito. > >The million-strong Confederation of Indigenous >Nationalities of Ecuador did not join the strike but >offered "moral support" to the protests. > >Economic chaos and attempts to impose IMF-backed neo- >liberal policies of austerity and privatization have led to >massive protests over the past years in Ecuador. In >January, only the intervention of the U.S.-backed >Ecuadorian military prevented the emergence of a popular >government. Noboa took power after mass protests forced >Jamil Mahuad from the presidency. > >PUERTO RICO: NEW ARRESTS AT VIEQUES > >Fifty-six activists were arrested June 17 as they defied >the U.S. Navy occupation of the Puerto Rican island of >Vieques. Among those arrested were 20 doctors protesting >the impact of the Navy bombing on the local residents. > >There has been a steady wave of activists entering the >training grounds to protest the Navy presence in recent >weeks. > >The Navy occupies Vieques for use as a training ground and >bombing range. In April 1999, a bomb killed Puerto Rican >civilian David Sanes. That provoked mass outrage. For over >a year after the killing, activists occupied the grounds, >camping out to prevent naval exercises. Their resolve was >reinforced by tremendous unity among Puerto Ricans against >the Navy bombing. > >The Navy retook the grounds on May 4, and has resumed >bombing. But civil disobedience actions continue--despite >threats of $250,000 in fines or 10 years in federal prison. > >After a June 10 action in which 14 people were arrested, >Committee for the Rescue and Development of Puerto Rico >leader Robert Rabin warned that the arrests would "make the >normal functioning of military activities inside Camp >Garcia [on the Vieques base] impossible." > >Meanwhile, in Washington, Puerto Rican activist Hector >Rosario began a hunger strike on June 15. He is demanding >that President Bill Clinton meet with Vieques leaders and >address their concerns. > >NICARAGUA: CIA ADMITS CONTRA DRUG SMUGGLING > >"In the end the objective of unseating the Sandinistas >appears to have taken precedence over dealing properly with >potentially serious allegations against those with whom the >agency was working." > >Those were the words of Central Intelligence Agency >Inspector General Britt Snider. He was testifying in front >of the House Intelligence Committee of the U.S. Congress in >May 1999. > >Robert Parry analyzed last May's testimony in the June 8 >issue of Consortium News. Parry sifted through pages of the >Intelligence Committee record and Department of Justice >reports on CIA involvement with right-wing Nicaraguan >contra drug smuggling. > >The CIA created the contras--short for counter- >revolutionaries--in the early 1980s to destabilize the 1978 >Nicaraguan Revolution, which was led by the Sandinista >National Liberation Front. The contras waged a terror >campaign against Sandinista supporters in the countryside. >They were backed by U.S. intelligence, arms and funds. > >Evidence that the contras funded their operations through >cocaine trafficking with the support of the CIA emerged at >the time. In 1996 San Jose Mercury News correspondent Gary >Webb wrote a series detailing these ties. He also exposed >how the drugs ended up on the streets of the poorest >communities in the United States. > >The U.S. government vigorously denied the reports. Webb was >eventually fired from the Mercury News. > >The 1999 testimony, contained in the government's own >reports, gives the lie to those denials. The U.S. >government's pattern of using the illicit drug trade to >support counter-revolutionary movements--from Vietnam to >Afghanistan and Nicaragua--should cast suspicion on the >Pentagon's current allies, the Colombian armed forces and >their paramilitary adjuncts. > >MEXICO: UNAM STUDENT LEADERS RELEASED > >On June 7, the final six student leaders of the 10-month >strike at the National Autonomous University of Mexico >(UNAM) were released from prison. The six had been among >the hundreds of General Strike Council (CGH) leaders and >activists arrested after troops stormed the campus in >February. > >Five hundred students welcomed the six as they left the >prison in the early morning hours. > >The CGH waged a four-month campaign to win their comrades' >release. While some had been offered release earlier, the >leaders pledged to stay in prison until all were released. > >Although none of the activists remain in prison, hundreds >are still under legal restrictions because they >participated in the strike. "More than 250 comrades still >find themselves within the penal process, with their >political rights suspended," CGH leaders explained in a >June 7 news release. "Although for the moment they are out >of prison, the judgment against them continues and they can >be jailed again." > >The CGH waged the strike at UNAM to defeat a massive >tuition increase and to institute democratic changes within >the university, which is considered one of Latin America's >premier educational institutions. While the strike was >broken with the tear gas and batons of riot police, the CGH >struggle is still alive. > >Students are now pressing to have all legal proceedings >against more than 600 student participants dropped. > >EAST TIMOR: FUEL PROTEST > >Hundreds of taxi and van drivers blocked traffic in central >Dili, the capital of East Timor, on June 7. The transport >workers were protesting a fuel price hike. > >East Timor is occupied by United Nations troops who moved >in after the population voted for independence from >Indonesia last year. The UN now administers East Timor. > >One protester was arrested for kicking a UN cop--a member >of the U.S. division of the occupation force. > >SLOVENIA: WORKERS DEMAND HIGHER PAY > >Unionists in Ljuubljana, Slovenia, staged a protest rally >against low wages on June 14. > >The 2,500 workers also called on bosses to take inflation >into account in computing raises. Unions complain that >wages are too low to support the workers in the former >autonomous region of Yugoslavia. > >BOSNIA: WAGE PROTESTS SPREAD > >Bosnia, once a relatively prosperous region of Yugoslavia, >is now a military protectorate of the Pentagon and NATO. >Workers are beginning to learn the results of dismantling >the socialist-based economy. > >As in the former Soviet Union, thousands of workers routinely >go without pay for months. On June 14, hundreds blocked >traffic in the eastern city of Tuzla to demand months of back >pay. Nearby, workers at the Lukavac soda factory walked off >the job. They had not received a paycheck for six months. >Three Lukavac workers blocked a road linking the capital city >of Sarajevo with Croatia. > >Eight hundred workers at two coal mines in Zenica went on >strike on June 12. They demanded mine-safety equipment, and >to be paid their April wages. The government agreed to pay >the wages "in principle"--but the miners refused to go back >to work until they had the guarantee in writing. > > - 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) > > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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