> > WW News Service Digest #176 > > 1) Message to Million Family March > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 2) Belgrade: Struggle Continues Despite Setback > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 3) IAC Speaks to Anti-Globalization Movement > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 4) Middle East Rises in Solidarity > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 5) The Drug Bust that Wasn't > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 6) Palestianians Stand Up > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Oct. 19, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >MESSAGE TO MILLION FAMILY MARCH > >[Workers World Party candidates Monica Moorehead and Gloria >La Riva issued the following statement to the Oct. 16 >Million Family March in Washington.] > >When many thousands of Black, Latin, Asian, Arab, Native and >white families stand together in Washington for the Million >Family March, it will represent a powerful and genuine >outcry against racism, national oppression and economic >inequality. > >As the only African American woman running for president and >the only Latina running for vice president, we congratulate >the organizers of this important mass action, including the >Nation of Islam, the Southern Christian Leadership >Conference, the Congressional Black Caucus, the National >Action Network, and numerous community, religious and >student organizations. > >This concept, initiated five years ago by the historic >Million Man March and followed by the Million Woman March >and Million Youth March, has given rise to a growing >grassroots movement of the oppressed. We applaud this year's >call for all people to come together regardless of national >origin to confront injustice. > >What is the context of the Million Family March? It is the >past five years of collaboration between the Clinton >administration and the Republican right wing in waging war >against the workers and the poor--especially people of >color. > >This era is marked by the passage of the so-called Crime >Bill that stepped up police brutality and prison building; >the speed up of legal lynchings through the Effective Death >Penalty Act; the fate of several Black officials from the >Clinton administration who were tossed to the wolves; and >finally, the expulsion of millions of poor families from >welfare. > >Conditions for our communities have worsened since 1995. >This was pointed out last August at the 100,000-strong >Redeem the Dream march, marking the 37th anniversary of Dr. >Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington. There it was >said that the Jim Crow denial of voting rights has turned >into the disenfranchisement of over 2 million prisoners, >while racist lynchings have turned into racial profiling and >police terror. > >This year, the Bush and Gore presidential campaigns offer >nothing for our communities. In fact, many of those who come >to the Million Family March will come to express disgust and >disillusionment with the corporate-dominated elections. > >The National Agenda offered by the Million Family March >organizers includes many excellent demands for more and >better jobs, improvements in health care, education and >public transportation, and a more just foreign policy. In >other areas our own program raises issues not in the Agenda. >We support women's right to choose and rights for lesbian, >gay, bi and trans people. > >The further development of the movement requires that it >become even broader, so as to encompass all those who face >discrimination and injustice. This includes women, the >lesbian/gay/bi/trans community, the labor movement, the anti- >corporate youth movement, supporters of political prisoner >Mumia Abu-Jamal, as well as the thousands of disillusioned >people who are supporting the Nader campaign. > >Beyond the vague idea of creating a "third force" to >influence the political process, there are no strong methods >proposed to enact the progressive aspects of the National >Agenda. Ultimately, this limits the movement to the >electoral arena. > >But the pressing needs of oppressed and working-class >communities can't be resolved under the capitalist profit >system, much less through the two-party electoral process >designed to serve it. > >That's why the Moorehead-La Riva campaign of Workers World >Party speaks for the socialist alternative to capitalism and >for building an independent movement that emphasizes class >struggle over elections. > >The ruling class of bosses, bankers and landlords that >dominates U.S. society profits handsomely by pitting workers >against each other using racism, sexism and >lesbian/gay/bi/trans oppression. This is a built-in feature >of capitalism. > >Capitalism can never meet the needs of the people. It must >be uprooted and replaced with a social system based on >public ownership and production to meet people's needs; a >system that guarantees jobs, education, housing and health >care for all--socialism. > >The next step is to build the mass protest at the >presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, 2001, in Washington to >demand a new trial for Mumia, the abolition of the racist >death penalty and an end to U.S. police terror at home and >abroad. > >- 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) > > > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 23:03:43 -0400 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] Belgrade: Struggle Continues Despite Setback >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Oct. 19, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENTS IN YUGOSLAVIA: >STRUGGLE CONTINUES DESPITE SETBACK IN BELGRADE > >By Sara Flounders >and John Catalinotto > >Faced with enormous pressure from the United States and its >NATO allies, a demonstration of 200,000 people in Belgrade >demanding that he step down, and violent attacks by smaller >organized paramilitary units, Yugoslav President Slobodan >Milosevic resigned Oct. 6. > >These events pose two questions of vital importance for the >working-class, anti-war and progressive movements around the >world. > >The first is: Which side are you on? Was this a people's >victory, as the corporate media claim, or a setback for the >working class in Yugoslavia and worldwide? > >The second question determines the outcome of this ongoing >struggle: Which class will control the state--that is, the >army, the police, the laws and the courts? Will the >international capitalist class that controls the World Bank, >the International Monetary Fund, the big investment banks >and the multinational corporations also control all the >levers of economic and political life in Yugoslavia? > >The mass demonstration gave the developments the appearance >of a revolutionary uprising. But it was a false appearance, >for the event was a NATO-backed counter-revolutionary coup >that is still incomplete and can be resisted. > >NATO LEADERS CHEER KOSTUNICA > >The most obvious indication of the character of what >happened came from the leaders of the NATO countries that >carried out the brutal 11-week bombing campaign against >Yugoslavia last year. The wild cheering by U.S. President >Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, British >Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard >Schroeder and his Green Party Foreign Minister Joshka >Fischer should clarify the significance of last week's >events for anyone who thought that the vote for Vojislav >Kostunica or the upheaval in Belgrade was a victory for >democracy. > >Drunk with their apparent success and anxious to take credit >for it, politicians from Washington to Berlin are now >bragging about their organized efforts to overturn the >Milosevic government. > >HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES: > >"Oct. 7 (Reuters)--Germany said on Saturday it had supported >the Yugoslav opposition with millions of marks in financial >aid. > >"Norway also said it had helped fund the Yugoslav >opposition's election campaign, which led to victory by >opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica and soon afterwards >to the overthrow of strongman President Slobodan Milosevic. > >"[The German weekly] Der Spiegel said around $30 million, >mostly from the United States, was channeled through an >office in Budapest. > >"Another 45 million marks ($20 million) from Germany and >other Western states went to cities that were under >opposition control. Der Spiegel said the Foreign Ministry >sent around 17 million marks through 16 German towns, which >also contributed." > >"Oct. 9 (Agence France Presse)--The chairman of the U.S. >Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Henry Shelton, praised >Bulgaria on Monday for helping bring about the downfall of >Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic." > >Their tactics included pumping tens of millions of dollars >into opposition parties in a starving economy distorted by >eight years of sanctions. Behind this were open military >threats to use NATO bombs and troops stationed in >surrounding countries if Milosevic won, and well-advertised >promises to end the sanctions and begin an era of peace and >prosperity if Kostunica was elected. > >Kostunica is a minor anti-communist politician and professor >of constitutional law backed by 18 small and completely >divergent parties that Washington cobbled together into the >"Democratic Opposition of Serbia" with funds and arm- >twisting. Kostunica ran on the economic program of the Group >of 17, drafted by economists in Yugoslavia who work for the >IMF and World Bank. Their "solutions" for Yugoslavia involve >ending free medical care and all subsidies for rent, food >and transportation. > >They would transform the whole economy, with most industries >rapidly privatized and the profitable ones sold cheaply to >foreign investors. Even in far more prosperous economies, >this shock treatment has resulted in massive layoffs. > >One can look at how the living standards for the workers of >Yugoslavia's neighbors, Romania and Bulgaria, plummeted >after they opened their economies to the imperialist banks >and followed IMF rules. > >But that seems to be exactly what Kostunica's forces have in >mind. Reuters reported Oct. 10 that DOS economist Miroljub >Labus said the IMF would allow Yugoslavia into the fold by >Dec. 14 if the opposition forms its government soon. > >ROLE OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY > >Despite many concessions and compromises, Milosevic's >Socialist Party of Serbia has struggled to maintain the >independence of Yugoslavia. This earned it the animosity of >imperialist reaction worldwide. For 10 years the U.S. and >European Union imperialists made every possible effort to >dismember the Yugoslav Socialist Federation and wipe out >even the memory of this multinational state--while the SPS >and its partner, the Yugoslav United Left, resisted. > >The corporate media demonized Milosevic, calling him a >dictator. But he and his party were elected to their >leadership role in Yugoslavia, won respect for leading the >heroic Yugoslav people during the 11 weeks of fighting NATO >aggression, and defended the Yugoslav economy from >imperialist penetration. > >It's true that the SPS lost the active support of the >working class, its original base. The party has so far been >unable to mobilize street demonstrations to defend itself >while under attack. Still, Milosevic won 2 million votes and >the SPS still legally leads important parliamentary bodies, >including the Federal Yugoslav and Serb parliaments. > >But it would be foolish to believe that Washington and its >clients in Yugoslavia will limit their tactics to >parliamentary legality. > >BATTLE FOR STATE POWER > >In a period of peaceful competition and discussion, the 18 >DOS parties backing Kostunica would rapidly split apart. >Kostunica is a monarchist and Serb nationalist, while other >parties in the coalition are anti-monarchist and fight for >independence for the provinces of Vojvodina and Sandja from >Serbia. > >In addition, any long period of peaceful political >competition would prove Kostunica's economic program a >bigger disaster for the Yugoslav workers than the sanctions. >And the inevitable evaporation of Yugoslav and Serb >sovereignty would outrage many of his current supporters. > >That's why Washington and its agents are switching rapidly >to extralegal methods to take over the whole state >apparatus. They have targeted essential government >ministries, especially state security, police and banking, >and the entire media apparatus, while violently attacking >the SPS and other left parties. > >In the elections the Socialist Party and the United Left won >control of both houses of the Federal Parliament. Under the >Yugoslav Constitution, Parliament is legally more important >than the presidency, a figurehead position. Even more >influential is the left-led Serb Parliament, which the DOS >government has now maneuvered into calling new elections for >December. > >The imperialist strategists are pushing to move quickly to >command the whole state, which also means purging the >leadership of the police and destroying the Yugoslav Army, >which is rooted in the 1945 socialist revolution and the >anti-Nazi Partisan struggle. > >Without an armed apparatus to defend themselves, the people >and especially the workers of Yugoslavia will be at the >mercy of the imperialist bankers and industrialists, who >have NATO forces in Kosovo and surrounding countries and >their own agents in Belgrade. > >IMPERIALISM'S EXTRALEGAL GANGS > >The anti-Milosevic gangs have also attacked left parties and >government centers. Velimir Ilic, the mayor of Cacac and a >deserter who refused to cooperate with the Yugoslav Army >during last year's resistance to NATO, boasted to the New >York Times that he organized anti-Milosevic commandos. > >Ilic said: "We established a team of young professionals, >paratroopers from the Yugoslav Army and young policemen, and >we coordinated this with the most elite units of the >Interior Ministry Police in Belgrade. We got martial arts >experts and professional boxers to join us. We even had >plainclothes police coordinating with nearby towns." > >Ilic told Agence France-Presse he had 2,000 people and that >some were armed. "A number of us had bulletproof vests and >arms," he said. "Our goal was very clear, take control of >the key institutions of the regime, including parliament and >the television." He didn't say if they were paid, and if so, >where he got the money. But he claimed his forces, dressed >in police uniforms, opened Parliament and sowed confusion in >the police ranks. Inside, he introduced his gang to Zoran >Djindjic, Kostunica's campaign manager. > >According to Michel Collon, correspondent of the Belgian >weekly Solidaire reporting from Belgrade, Djindjic >coordinated the attacks on Parliament and Serbian >television. Djindjic used threats and pressure against >journalists to take over the major public television, radio >and print media, including the daily newspaper Politika. > >Djindjic's gangsters also vandalized and wrecked the >Belgrade headquarters of the SPS and the smaller New >Communist Party of Yugoslavia shortly after the seizure of >Parliament. In addition, homes of SPS activists have been >burned in and near Belgrade, and there have been even more >serious incidents in the provinces. > >THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES > >On Oct. 10, the DOS leadership made an agreement with the >Socialist People's Party of Montenegro to make that party's >leader, Pedrag Bulatovic, the new premier in the Federal >Parliament of Yugoslavia. Bulatovic said his party, which >had been aligned with Milosevic's SPS, wanted to form a >government with the DOS which "balances political forces in >the federal parliament." > >Another dozen paragraphs would be needed to explain all the >possible parliamentary maneuvering. But this is really >secondary. Washington and its agents will use every kind of >pressure on individuals, political parties and the >population as a whole to keep peaceful democratic >competition from reversing its counter-revolution. > >Collon and other reporters in Belgrade have noted that the >population was disgusted by the burning of Parliament and >the other violence. "Even the Kostunica supporters say they >voted for a better life, not for revenge." But if the police >and army withdraw from keeping order, only the active >organization of the left can defend its positions. > >Yugoslavia's defense minister, Gen. Dragoljub Ojdanic, urged >the SPS to rally. In an open letter, Ojdanic warned the >Serbs might otherwise face extinction as a people. He said >that "disunity among the Serbs is inciting the plans of our >proven enemies" to occupy the country, referring to NATO's >ties to the DOS. > >Here in the United States it's important first that the left >understand that what happened Oct. 5-6 was a setback for the >workers and for Yugoslavia's sovereignty. What is called for >is active solidarity with those in Yugoslavia who continue >to resist these counter-revolu tionary developments, whether >they be in the SPS, the other left parties, the unions, or >the army and the police. > >Imperialism has ripped and clawed its way into a position of >considerable power in Yugoslavia today. But the struggle >continues. > >The writers were organizers of this year's June 10 >International War Crimes Tribunal in New York that exposed >U.S./NATO crimes during the 78-day bombing of Yugoslavia. > >- 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) > > > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 23:03:44 -0400 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] IAC Speaks to Anti-Globalization Movement >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Oct. 19, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >INTERNATIONAL ACTION CENTER SPEAKS TO THE ANTI- >GLOBALIZATION MOVEMENT: >WHAT YOUR SHOULD KNOW ABOUT EVENTS IN YUGOSLAVIA > >[The International Action Center released the following >statement Oct. 11.] > >The corporate-backed politicians all agree. The torching of >Yugoslavia's parliament and the overthrow of President >Slobodan Milosevic was a "triumph for democracy." That's >what Bill Clinton says. So do George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, >Mad e leine Albright, Al Gore and the Joint Chiefs of Staff >at the Pentagon. CNN, NBC, CBS and Time magazine say so too. > >WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? > >In Seattle, Washington, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, >protesters were gassed, beaten, shot with rubber bullets and >held for days in overcrowded cells. The media called us >"rioters" and "vandals" and told us to go home and "seek >change through the ballot box." But in Yugoslavia the CIA >and State Department urged the "opposition" to boycott the >second round of elections, march in the streets and attack >government offices. > >It is supposed to be a crime for any U.S. political >candidate to accept donations from abroad. But Washington >gave hundreds of millions of dollars to Vojislav Kostunica's >"Democratic Opposition of Serbia" before the Sept. 24 >elections. > >FROM BOMBERS TO 'DEMOCRATS' > >Last year the United States and other NATO powers rained >bombs and missiles on Yugoslavia for 78 days. They destroyed >homes, schools and hospitals. They killed and maimed >thousands, including hundreds of children. The U.S. media >and politicians justified these war crimes with a lie >campaign demonizing all Serbs. Now the politicians and >generals who ordered the bombing and the media who justified >it claim to be champions of the rights of the Serbian >people. > >There is no inconsistency here. All over the world >Washington's attitude is guided by concern for corporate >interests. U.S. policy toward Yugoslavia is war by other >means. > >MILOSEVIC SAID NO TO IMF > >Slobodan Milosevic may not be a revolutionary in the mold of >Fidel Castro or Che Guevara. But in the eyes of Washington >he committed the same sin as the protesters in Seattle and >Prague: He said no to the New World Order and the >International Monetary Fund. > >Under the leadership of his Serbian Socialist Party, the >United Left and the Montenegrin People's Socialist Party, >Yugoslavia refused to join NATO or accept IMF-dictated >"economic restructuring." It resisted privatization and the >"free flow of capital" demanded by Wall Street. For that >reason--and that alone--Yugoslavia was the target of eight >years of war and economic sanctions by the U.S. and NATO and >a nonstop campaign of lies by the biggest propaganda machine >in history--the U.S. corporate news media. > >KOSTUNICA SAID YES > >On Sept. 27, unknown to most of their followers, leaders of >the U.S.-funded "Democratic Opposition" met with >representatives of the IMF and the World Bank in Sofia, >Bulgaria. They agreed that if they came to power they would >hike prices, privatize industry, lay off workers and >dismantle Yugoslavia's free health-care system. That's >right: Yugoslavia has free health care--and the IMF wants to >destroy it! > >These are the same measures that have devastated Bulgaria, >Romania, the former Soviet republics and countries >throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. That was the >price of Washington's support. > >A CLASSIC CIA OPERATION > >Kostunica and his CIA advisers arrogantly rejected a second >round of elections. They feared that even if they won--a big >"if"--the elected Socialist parliamentary majority would >block the IMF's program. Kostunica and the CIA wanted to >take power by force in order to intimidate or disband the > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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