>their former colony. Nor did he remind world public opinion >of the Nigerian naval blockade and aerial bombardment of the >capital, Freetown, in 1997, after the government favored by >Britain and the United States had been overthrown in a >military coup. > >For over a century, the imperialist powers have used charges >of atrocities to corral public support for their own bloody, >interventionist schemes. > >BRITISH RULE LEFT POVERTY >AMID RICHES > >Sierra Leone, a West African nation of 4.8 million people, >was an outright colony of Britain until 1961. The country's >natural resources include bauxite, cocoa, coffee, palm >kernel, corn--and, most notably, diamonds. Yet for all this >wealth, 75 percent of the people live in extreme poverty. >The country's gross domestic product averages $159 per >person per year--one of the lowest in the world. > >A civil war has raged there since 1991. During that time >military factions have carried out several coups. > >In 1998 President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was returned to power >by troops of the Economic Community of West Africa (Ecowas), >a 19-country force led by Nigeria under United Nations >direction. > >In July 1999 Kabbah's government signed a peace accord with >two rebel armies, the RUF and the Armed Forces Revolutionary >Council. The accord, signed in Togo, brought RUF and AFRC >into a coalition government. > >The peace accord broke down after RUF leader Foday Sankoh >charged Kabbah with violating the agreement. A UN >"peacekeeping force" of 8,700 troops from Nigeria, Kenya, >Ghana, India, Guinea, Jordan and Zambia was sent in to >replace the Togo Lome coalition government. > >The major imperialist powers in Africa--the United States, >Britain and France--supported Kabbah and the UN troops even >as they maneuvered to keep Nigeria from getting too much >power. > >In April of this year, RUF forces captured 500 UN troops. >There was heavy fighting in northern Sierra Leone, driving >350,000 refugees into neighboring Guinea. > >In May the RUF seized several diamond mines. > >Britain, the former colonial power in Sierra Leone, sent >several hundred paratroopers into the capital of Freetown, >accompanied by an aircraft carrier and other ships, >supposedly to evacuate British nationals. A U.S. Navy >warship was also sent to the area. > >Liberian President Charles Taylor negotiated the release of >the UN troops from the RUF. In May the combined forces of >Britain, AFRC and the United States captured RUF leader >Sankoh. > >Sankoh is now in a Freetown jail. If U.S. Ambassador to the >UN Richard Holbrooke gets his way, Sankoh will be tried by a >UN War Crimes Tribunal. The U.S.-dominated UN Security >Council voted 15 to zero to set up a war crimes body for >Sierra Leone. > >Holbrooke, it should be remembered, is the U.S. diplomat who >set the stage for the U.S./NATO war in Kosovo. > >In addition, the UN Security Council has voted to ban >diamond sales from Sierra Leone until a certification system >is put in place by the government. Holbrooke charged that >the diamonds were fueling the RUF in the civil war and >enriching officials from neighboring Liberia. > >U.S. DIAMOND INTERESTS > >Holbrooke says not a word about the diamonds having enriched >foreign imperialists for years. One such company is America >Mineral Fields--which used to be based in Bill Clinton's >hometown of Hope, Ark. AMF "has a majority stake in Nord >Resources, a major [diamond] mining house in Sierra Leone," >according to the Web site of Africa Confidential. > >Earlier the Security Council voted to "strengthen the >peacekeeping force." Holbrooke says this gives the UN troops >authority to "take down the RUF." > >Gov. George W. Bush and his foreign policy advisor >Condoleeza Rice have given public support to the Clinton- >Gore moves to deepen U.S. intervention in Sierra Leone's >civil war. > >Many stories have appeared in the Western media alleging >atrocities by the Nigerian troops. When heavily armed >British soldiers carried out an offensive in Sierra Leone >last month, however, the wire services said only that they >had "no reports" on casualties. > >Nigeria has begun to face problems at home over its multi- >billion-dollar war budget; there are cries to bring the >youthful troops home. Nigeria also faces an external debt of >$31 billion, with yearly debt servicing of $3.5 billion. > >Oil-rich Nigeria faces deep poverty. In August, 169 Shell >Oil employees were held hostage by Nigerian youths demanding >jobs. All the hostages were released unharmed. > >Ivory Coast, a member of the Nigeria-led military force, was >rocked by a coup in December 1999, staged by soldiers >demanding back pay for fighting in Liberia and Sierra Leone. > >The United States owes the UN millions of dollars for these >operations. Nigeria was left holding the bag for the Ecowas >campaign, politically and economically. > >It's clear the Nigerian-led campaign in Sierra Leone has >failed. The Ivory Coast coup and the determination of the >RUF to keep fighting have the imperialists worried. > >Capitalists at the helm of firms like Shell Oil, De Beers >and Oppenheimer have had many restless nights. De Beers, >whose interest is diamonds, is deeply involved in Sierra >Leone, Liberia and Guinea. > >Clinton's visit to Nigeria in September will be another >great unequal exchange. Nigeria will go back to war. The >United States will train its troops. In exchange, Washington >will assist in rescheduling about 80 percent of Nigeria's >debt, according to InterPress Service. > >In Lagos, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Business and >Agricultural Affairs Alan Larson said the United States >would like Nigeria to use "only" $1.5 billion annually for >debt service. > >This is Clinton's Africa Growth and Opportunity Act in >living color. The U.S. working class should show the African >people solidarity by demanding: U.S. out of Africa and hands >off Sierra Leone. > >- 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: <009701c00d6b$469733f0$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Clinton out of Colombia: Worldwide actions planned Aug. 30 >Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2000 21:33:16 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 31, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >'First victims of Plan Colombia' > >INTERNATIONAL ACTIONS SET FOR AUG. 30 > >By Andy McInerney > >The U.S.-backed Colombian military opened fire on a group of >schoolchildren on Aug. 15 in the northern town of Pueblo >Rico. > >Four children were killed outright. Two others died on the >way to the hospital. > >Four other children were wounded but survived the massacre. > >The Colombian Army at first claimed that the children were >caught in the crossfire of a gun battle between government >troops and the National Liberation Army, one of the >revolutionary insurgencies fighting the Colombian >government. But the true story quickly emerged. > >"There were no guerrillas," one girl told USA Today on Aug. >17. "All around us, it was the army that was shooting at >us." > >Maria Girlesa Villegas, a government human-rights official, >described the macabre scene. "According to firsthand >accounts, [the soldiers] were shooting at them for 45 >minutes." > >Hernando Higuita, a local official in Pueblo Rico, arrived >at the scene soon after the shootings began. "When I shouted >to the army not to shoot because these were children, they >shot even more." > >The leftist Notipaco news agency wrote that the six would >"be recorded as the first victims of the Plan Colombia." > >The killings come at a critical time. U.S. President Bill >Clinton is set to visit Cartegena, Colombia, on Aug. 30. > >Clinton is travelling to Colombia to show his backing for >the Plan Colombia, a $7.5 billion program designed to shore >up the battered government of Colombian President Andres >Pastrana. At the core of the package is a $1.3 billion U.S. >military-aid package that Clinton signed in July. > >Colombia is already the third-biggest recipient of U.S. >military aid in the world. > >The U.S. military aid consists of 60 combat helicopters, >Special Forces troops to train the Colombian military in >counterinsurgency tactics, and defoliation chemicals >designed to destroy coca crops. > >The package is described as part of the "war on drugs." But >scores of Colombian human rights, labor and community groups >have called the Plan Colombia an "act of war." > >Part of the legislation granting the $1.3 billion requires >the U.S. government to ensure that the aid will not go to >units accused of "human-rights violations." But on Aug. 22, >Clinton signed a "waiver" and allowed the aid to go through-- >even though the tears of the six child victims' families are >not yet dry. > >PROTESTS CHALLENGE CLINTON'S TRIP > >Across Colombia, scores of groups are preparing to unleash a >wave of protests during Clinton's six-hour visit Aug. 30. > >On Aug. 17, Julio Roberto G�mez, president of the General >Confederation of Democratic Workers (CGTD), announced that >the main labor-union federations would stage protests >against the Plan Colombia. > >Protests and strikes are set for Cartegena, Bogot�, and >other major cities across Colombia. > >According to the Colombian Communist Party weekly newspaper >Voz, over 30 social, labor, political, community, peasant, >student and Indigenous groups agreed to spearhead the >protests at an Aug. 10 meeting presided over by the FECODE >teachers' union. Anti-imperialist actions will build up to >the day and continue through a national day of action called >for Oct. 12. > >The Aug. 30 protests have generated solidarity all over the >world. Demonstrations are planned in Stockholm, London, >Montreal, Toronto, Buenos Aires and other cities in Latin >America and Europe. > >In the United States, groups are planning Aug. 30 actions >against Clinton's trip. As of Aug. 22, events were scheduled >in New York, San Francisco and Atlanta. A coordinated >protest organized by the Colombia Solidarity Committee in >Chicago will be held on Aug. 31. > >On Aug. 16 the International Action Center issued a call to >U.S. activists to participate in the protests. "The people >of the U.S. have nothing to gain from the escalation of war >in Colombia," the statement said. "We will not sit by while >the U.S. government prepares another Vietnam-style war." > >"In New York, we will be joining with the Colombia Action >Committee, the Haiti Support Network, Casa de las Americas, >and other groups to protest the Plan Colombia," reported IAC >leader Teresa Gutierrez. "We are looking forward to sending >a strong message that activists are preparing to confront >this latest U.S. war. > >"We have received messages of support from around the >world," Gutierrez said. "As Clinton's visit approaches, >support is continuing to grow." > >She urged anti-war and progressive activists to contact the >IAC at (212) 633-6646 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] if they are >planning coordinated actions or want to join already >scheduled actions. > >- 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: <009f01c00d6b$5be4ffd0$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Turkish revolutionary on hunger strike >Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2000 21:33:51 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 31, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >Belgium > >TURKISH REVOLUTIONARY ON HUNGER STRIKE > >By John Catalinotto > >On Aug. 18, Turkish political activist Fehriye Erdal, who >has been held by the Belgian authorities since September >1999, resumed her 33-day hunger strike after suspending it >for one day. > >Belgian officials had promised to hold the young activist >under house arrest at an unpublished location, but her >address had already been leaked to the media. This put her >in danger of kidnapping or murder by Turkish agents, who >view her as a dangerous revolutionary. > >Erdal was arrested on Sept. 26, 1999, in Belgium after >police discovered a few firearms in the apartment she >happened to be in by chance. The Turkish authorities accused >her of being a member of an illegal organization, the >Revolutionary People's Liberation Army-Front (DHKC-P). > >She was acquitted in a Belgian court, and on May 26 the >Belgian government decided not to extradite her to Turkey. >Yet the Belgian minister of internal affairs decided to keep >her in prison for the "national security of Belgium." > >The Belgian State Council of Justice--something like the >U.S. Supreme Court--ruled that she should not be extradited, >either to Turkey or to a third country, and should indeed be >acquitted. Still the Ministry of Internal Affairs insists on >extraditing her to a third country and keeping her in prison >until then. > >Erdal has been on hunger strike since July 14. She says she >is determined to continue this action until she is released. >Fifteen other people joined her hunger strike in solidarity >on Aug. 5. > >She demands the right to choose where she will stay in >Belgium so she can arrange her own defense against the >Turkish state. In 1999, Turkish agents kidnapped Abdullah >Ocalan, head of the Workers Party of Kurdistan, from Kenya >and brought him to prison in Turkey. > >Jan Fermon, a lawyer for Erdal, told the Belgian weekly >newspaper Solidaire that "in this case the Belgian state is >entirely following the Turkish policy of defining all >communist activity as criminal activity." > >Fermon continued, "Finally, Turkey and Belgium have accords >though their relationship to NATO to fight against internal >enemies--democratic and communist militant workers' >movements. In the Erdal case, we see the direct application >of these accords." > >It is possible to send messages of solidarity to Erdal at >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >- 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. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________
