> >New Worker Online Digest > >Week commencing 6th October, 2000. > >1) Editorial - One up for the Danes. & Israeli terror must stop. > >2) Lead story - Arabs defy Israeli might. > >3) Feature article - TGWU leads fight against vouchers. > >4) International story - Chilean Communists to sue US government. > >5) British news item - Pensioners keep up the pressure. > > >1) Editorial > >One up for the Danes. > >THE DANISH people said no to European Monetary Union last week -- good news >for the working people of Denmark and good news for the rest of us in the >European Union. It was a slap in the face for the Danish ruling class and >the social-democratic elite. > > Their drive for speedy full EU integration has been stopped in its tracks. >Of course they'll lick their wounds and live to fight another day. There >will be another referendum in a few years time and as far as they are >concerned they will campaign for as long as it takes to get their own way. > > Danish workers have won a breather. They too will also have to continue to >campaign against the threat to their welfare state posed by greater >integration. The long-term campaign against the whole concept of the >capitalist union has to be maintained against the barrage of propaganda >from the Danish establishment who console themselves with the belief that >time is on their side. But the impact of the Danish vote goes far beyond >Denmark. > > It has immediately created a two-tier EU, with the core founder members of >the Treaty of Rome pressing ahead with plans for a single European >capitalist state while others remain outside EMU, or "Euroland" as they say >in the City. The Danish 'No' has stiffened the resistance to EMU in other >parts of Scandinavia and encouraged the growing opposition in Britain to >the single currency. > > At Labour Party conference last week the big-wigs tried to play >down the significance of the Danish referendum in almost a dismissive way. >Others conceded that Blair & Co will have to tread carefully after the next >election -- assuming they win -- with plans for a British EMU vote. > > Well they might but this doesn't mean they are going to give up on it. >Though the ruling class is divided on the issue, the dominant trend is in >favour of full integration. They see no future for themselves outside full >partnership with Germany, France and the other core members of the European >Union. Whether Denmark goes in or not is irrelevant to the needs of British >imperialism and the capitalist class as a whole. > > The lesson they'll have learnt from the Danish experience is the need to >step up the pro-EU propaganda even more to convince working people that >there is no life outside Euroland. > > That may seem a tall task today. But the real EMU campaign has yet to >begin. When it does we will see a grand coalition of the great and the good >-- led by the Labour leadership and the TUC -- working to get Britain into >EMU. The opposition will be dismissed as "little Englanders", cranks, >bigots, extremists, racists and neo-nazis. > > Of course, some are. What communists must do is ensure that the anti-EMU >campaign is based on working class demands -- not the current Tory slogan >of "saving the pound" or the agenda of the racist and fascists who dance to >the same tune. > > The capitalists' European Union is neither democratic not genuinely >federal. It is going to be exactly what they want -- a European superstate >directly controlled and solely for the benefit of the exploiters with >minimal rights for working people. But it's working people who will pay for >it if it goes ahead in higher general taxes and duties and overall lower >wages. This has been the reality of the Common Market since its foundation. >We must say no to EMU. The Danes have shown us the way. > > ************************* >Israeli terror must stop. > >ONCE AGAIN Israel shows its true face -- Palestinians butchered in the West >Bank by rampaging Israeli troops trying to quell Arab anger at an >occupation which goes on and on and on. > > We can only admire the heroism of the Palestinian Arabs ready to defy >Israel's tanks and guns with catapults and stones. We can only despise >Israel's rulers who talk of peace but reach for their guns at the first >sign of defiance. > > Israel's ruling Labour coalition say that the trouble began when >right-wing opposition leader General Arik Sharon chose to enter one of >Islam's holy sites in Jerusalem with his thousand-strong police guard. >Sharon, a well-known Arab-hater, wanted to send a message to the fanatical >Zionist settler constituency in advance of the upcoming Israeli election. >He sent a message to the Palestinians and all the Arabs as well. > > But it's the Israeli Labour government which has ordered the troops to try >to drown the protests in blood. And it's that same government which refuses >to meet even a fraction of the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people. > > Israel is a colonial settler state established through a monstrous crime >in 1948. Nearly a million Palestinians were driven out of their homes and >land to make way for Zionist settles. In 1967 Israel seized the rest of >Palestine which it occupies to this day. > > Israel can only do this because it is armed to the teeth by US imperialism >with the tacit support of the rest of the pack of wolves including Britain. >Israel is a huge military camp for the West, part ofimperialism's strategic >plan to keep Middle East oilsafe for.the monopolies and frustrate the Arabs >hopes for unity and genuine independence. > > But the lesson of the four major Middle East wars and the countless minor >conflicts since 1948 is that there can be no peace in the region as long as >Palestinian rights are denied. Israel must withdraw to the pre-1967 war >armistice line. Israel must recognise the right of the Palestinian Arabs to >have their own independent state and above all, Israel must recognise the >right of the millions of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. > > Israel can have Arab land or it can have peace. It will never have both. > > ********************* > >2) Lead story > >Arabs defy Israeli might. > >by Our Middle East Affairs correspondent > >FIERCE FIGHTING continues throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip as the >Palestinian masses take to the streets to defy the tanks and guns of the >Israeli army. United Nations Secretary-General has described the situation >as close to "all-out war". > > In Paris the Americans are trying to broker yet another of their >ceasefires while across the Arab world huge protests are taking place. Arab >leaders are calling for an emergency Arab summit, frustrated at their >predictable failure to get the UN Security Council to intervene due to >American pressure. > > Over 60 Palestinians, nearly all civilians and some just boys, have been >killed in a week of clashes with the Israeli army and Zionist settler >gunmen. Over 1,300 have wounded in battles which are raging throughout >Palestine. They resist with stones and petrol bombs. Palestinian police and >Palestinian guerrillas are returning fire and at least three Israeli >soldiers have been killed and 60 more wounded. > > Back in Paris Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli premier Ehud >Barak are holding proximity talks through the office of the US Secretary of >State, Madeleine Albright. Arafat is demanding an international inquiry >into the outbreak of violence triggered by the provocative visit by the >Israeli opposition leader, General Ariel Sharon, to one of Islam's sacred >sites in Arab Jerusalem last week. > > Sharon's stunt, aimed at winning Zionist settler votes in the forthcoming >election, enraged the Palestinians who took to the streets as soon as the >news broke. Israel's response was to unleash its army on unarmed civilians. > > >resistance grows > > But terror has failed to break Palestinian morale. The more the Israelis >kill, the more the resistance grows. Now its spread to Israel's >million-strong Arab minority in northern Galilee and the Negev -- >Palestinians who managed to cling on to their homes during the 1948 war and >who are, at least on paper, Israeli citizens. > > In Galilee Israeli-Arab leaders called a general strike in solidarity with >the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza. Thousands marched demanding the >dismissal and trial of Israeli Army Chief of Staff Shaul Moufaz for >ordering his troops to open fire and kill Palestinian children. > > Israeli flags were burnt and barricades set up once the same troops opened >fire with rubber bullets and live ammunition. Six were killed and many were >injured. The Israeli police tried to enter the towns of Umm al Fahem and >Tamra but held back after Arab members of the Israeli parliament warned >that this would lead to a full-scale uprising inside Israel itself. > > >China condemns Sharon > > At the United Nations HQ in New York the Palestinian representative, >Nasser al Kidwa, called on the Security Council to act to end Israel's >brutal repression. He accused the Israeli army of warcrimes and called on >the Council to use its authority to put an immediate end to Israel's >"brutal campaign". > > "The Council has to bring an end the violations by the occupying power >under the fourth Geneva convention," Nasser al Kidwa said. > > Speaking for People's China, Wang Yingfan condemned Israeli violence. "It >is appalling that Israeli military police used helicopters, rockets and >tanks against Palestinian civilians, causing deaths and a large number of >injuries among civilians, in particular children," Wang said. > > The Chinese UN ambassador called for an immediate end to the fighting and >added: "The Sccurity Council shoulders the primary responsibility for >maintaininginternationalpeaceandsecurity. It has an unshakable >responsibility for protecting civilians in Palestine. The Security Council >should send out the strongest possible signal to put an end to the bloody >incidents in which innocent civilians are subject to violence". > > Wang Yingfan singled out General Sharon for blame and said: "The Israeli >opposition leader made a sudden visit to al Haram al Sharif and made a >controversial statement. This is a very irresponsible and provocative act >which should be condemned by the Council". > > "At this very crucial juncture, it is China's strong hope that parties >concerned exercise ultimate restraint and stop all talk and acts >detrimental to the peace process and create the necessary conditions for >resuming and accelerating peace negotiations," Wang declared. > > But the Security Council did nothing, under American pressure to accept >yet another of their "peace initiatives" > > >in Paris > > In the French capital, Yasser Arafat has held talks with Madeleine >ALbright but he's re fused to meet Bara k face-to-face so far. Arafal is >Furious at Tel Aviv's propaganda barrage, blaming him for the violence and >calling on him to use whatever influence he's got in the Palestinian street >to end the fighting. In fact the Palestinian leader has acted with >considerable restraint. His Palestinian police have only returned fire >after extreme provocation from the Israeli army and several have been >killed in the weeklong clashes. > > Arafat is also under immense pressure from the progressive resistance and >the Islamic movement not to make any further concessions to Israel. In >Damascus, the Popular Front (PFLP) and Democratic Front (DFLP) for the >Liberation of Palestine issued a joint statement urging him to stop >negotiations. The Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, is calling for >Arafat's resignation, to allow the Palestinian people to choose a new >leadership which would back the uprising. > > In virtually all the Arab capitals, from Morocco to the Gulf, tens of >thousands are marching to show their support for the Palestinians and Arab >Jerusalem. > > And in Israel itself the peace movement is also mobilising to stop the >carnage. Yesh Gvul (There is a limit), a movement inside the Israeli army >for soldiers who refuse to serve in the occupied territories, reports that >one of its members has been sentenced to 28 days in a military prison for >disobeying orders. > > Noam Kuzar, a 19-year-old conscript told his commanding officer that he >could not in good conscience take part in putting down the Palestinian >revolt. Yesh Gval believes that many more will be following Noam Kuzar's >footsteps if the confrontation goes on for much longer. > > ********************** > >3) Feature article > >TGWU leads fight against vouchers. > >by Caroline Colebrook > >THE GOVERNMENT last week agreed, under pressure from the TGWU general >union, to hold an immediate and wide-ranging review of the system of giving >asylum-seekers food vouchers instead of cash to live on. > > The union had tabled a motion to abolish the hated vouchers -- for which >no cash change can be given -- at the Labour Party conference. > > The Labour leadership had already lost some important votes on pensions >and on rail safety. > > TGWU general secretary Bill Morris was persuaded to drop the motion but >only on the understanding that this review will lead to the end of the >voucher system. > > Bill Morris has led a crusade against the vouchers and secured unanimous >backing in his bid to get them abolished at the TUC conference in Blackpool >three weeks ago. > > The scheme was introduced in April to appease the anti-asylum seeker >furore being whipped up in the right-wing press. > > The vouchers can be spent at selected supermarkets but if the goods bought >do not reach the full value of the vouchers, no change can be given. > > Bill Morris told the Labour conference to end "a degrading and inhuman >system which creates new targets for racist attacks" and the "grotesque >situation where taxpayers and asylum seekers are subsidising Sainsbury's >and Tesco because of the "no change" rule. > > The TGWU issued a dossier of evidence it had gathered to lobby ministers >on this issue, including leaked advice to the Government from Home Office >officials which said "refusal to give change would present retailers with >the opportunity for profit at the expense of the destitute," and would >"devalue the financial support" and lead to "conflict between asylum >seekers and retailers. > > This did indeed happen last weekend in Hull when a group of refugees, >backed by about 50 demonstrators, blocked five check-outs at the local Kwik >Save supermarket. > > The asylum seekers had bought tea bags and milk and demanded change from >their �5 vouchers. They refused to leave when they were denied. > > Queues built up and many customers dumped their shopping and walked out of >the shop. > > Outside, supporters carried placards demanding an end to the voucher >system. One student Ham Zaide from Sierra Leone said: "As soon as you come >here everyone knows who you are because you produce the vouchers at the till. > > "I lose about �l a week in here because I cannot spend the correct amount." > > Guy Cheverton, acting secretary of the Hull Asylum Seekers Support Group, >said: "Asylum seekers should be given cash, not vouchers." > > ************************* > >4) International story > >Chilean Communists to sue US government. > >THE CHILEAN Communist Party is preparing a lawsuit against the US >government for its involvement in Chile's military coup in the 1970s. > > The lawsuit, which will be filed in the US Federal Court, was based on >documents recently declassified by the CIA, the party's secretary-general >Gladys Marin said. > > The documents implicate the CIA in the 1973 military coup, during which >the government of Salvador Allende was overthrown by General Augusto >Pinochet. The CIA employed "conspiracy, espionage and sabotage to >overthrow" the government, Marin said. > > "Our aim is to seek compensation for all damage caused there from. >including the assassinated and the missing people, not only For the sake of >the party's suffering," added Marin, whose husband, Jorge Munoz, was among >the more than 1,000 people who "disappeared" after they were arrested by >the Chilean secret police. > > The documents referred to by Marin were found in the Hinchley Report, >released by the US Senate last month. > > The report confirms that the CIA Funded a ring-wing extremist group in >Chile, which assassinated Army Commander-in-Chief General Rene Scheider to >prevent Allende from assuming the presidency. The documents also show the >CIA was involved in other sabotage activities at that time. > >Xinhua > > ********************* > >5) British news item > >Pensioners keep up the pressure. > >by Renee Sams > >PENSIONERS picketed Parliament last Tuesday, angry that at the Labour Party >conference, Prime Minister Tony Blair had definitely ruled out restoring >the link between pensions and earnings. > > They gave a cautious welcome to Tony Blair's package of measures that >promise some increase in pensioners' incomes but the fear is that it will >not amount to very much. > > The Government claims that a link with earnings would be an enormous cost >for future generations and points to the �6.5 billion it is allocating for >the benefit of pensioners. > > But that is only one third of what has been taken from pensioners' incomes >over the last 21 years. > > A report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation revealed that 15 million >people are now so poor as to be unable to afford what a humane society >would regard as the basic necessities of daily living. > > TUC general secretary John Monks has also attacked those who are just >raking in "shedloads of cash" while millions of pensioners have to make do >with crumbs. > > He pointed out the everwidening gap between rich and poor. In 1994 the >highest paid directors voted themselves 15.7 times more cash than their >employees and by 1999 the ratio rose to 20.7, with the average directors' >pay rising by 72 per cent to �410,000 compared to 18 percent for the workers. > > These figures just underline that the 75 pence increase on the basic >pension of �67.70 is just an insult to those who have spent their working >lives paying National Insurance contributions in the expectation of a >decent pension when they retired. > > After the picket of Parliament, pensioners attended a rally in >Westminster's Central Hall with Mayor Ken Livingstone. This was the third >meeting in a series: "Meet the Mayor" that Ken Livingstone is organising as >part of the process of giving London the "most accessible and inclusive >government ever seen in Britain". > > Although London pensioners have free travel on buses and trains within the >Greater London area, bus travel guile often means long waits for buses held >up in traffic jams, and the London Underground is becoming an absolute >misery, especially for older people. > > London's transport is where the new Greater London Authority has the most >powers and the Mayor aims "to create a transport. system that will increase >Londoners quality of life and London's business efficiency". > > As Ken Livingstone pointed out, after the Tory Government in the 1980s >forced his "Fair's fare" policy to be withdrawn, "fares have just gone up >and up". > > The bus companies make a great play of "buses sticking to their >timetables" but what is wanted is "a regular bus service". > > The audience clearly approved of the Mayor's plans for a "major expansion >of bus services". He also emphasised the need for stronger measures to keep >bus lanes clear. "We must fine those who park in them," he said. > > The Mayor is also determined to go ahead with congestion charges in London >of �5 to take a car into central London, a plan that has come under fire >from car owners and companies. > > There are also plans to extend the Docklands Light railway to improve >public transport in both the north and south of London. > > The Mayor is also looking at ways of involving taxis and the dial-a-ride >service to provide a comprehensive transport service. > > Pensioners also welcomed the Mayor's ideas on increasing the numbers of >police and to "make the police service more accountable and responsive to >win the confidence of all Londoners in the fight against crime". > > He would also like to see London "have its own police force", replacing >the Metropolitan Police force which is under the Home Office. > > Extra police to improve the service would put only 50 pence on the council >tax, which, he thought, "would be money well spent". > > One major problem of London is the high cost of living which is one cause >of a shortage, not only of police but doctors and nurses who cannot afford >the rents and mortgages. > > Property in London has got more and more expensive over the years and many >young people are seeking housing outside the area. Commuting is also costly. > > Ken Livingstone calculated that it would need at least an other quarter >more on the wages as a London allowance if key skilled workers are to be >able to Live in the capital. > > He told the pensioners that he is "seeking a way of building affordable >housing" to try to address the problem. > > ********************* > > >New Communist Party of Britain Homepage > >http://www.newcommunistparty.org.uk > >A news service for the Working Class! > >Workers of all countries Unite! > > > > > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. 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