5) DPRK Leader's Views on Socialist Construction
by [EMAIL PROTECTED]
6) South Korean Auto Worker Tours U.S.
by [EMAIL PROTECTED]
7) Bush's Europe Trip Kindles Huge Protests
by [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: torstai 21. kes�kuu 2001 11:16
Subject: [WW] DPRK Leader's Views on Socialist Construction
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the June 28, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
KIM JONG IL EMPHASIZES IDEOLOGY: DPRK LEADER'S
VIEWS ON SOCIALIST CONSTRUCTION
By Deirdre Griswold
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has withstood over
50 years of unrelenting military hostility from U.S.
imperialism, including a war that killed some three million
of its people. Over the last decade, it made the transition
to a new leadership under arduous economic conditions caused
by natural disasters and the collapse of the socialist bloc
led by the Soviet Union.
With all this, the North Korean leaders have held firmly to
the socialist course and have rallied the people to defend
their independence and sovereignty.
What has made all this possible? In a pamphlet entitled
"Giving Priority to Ideological Work Is Essential for
Accomplishing Socialism," published in 1995 by the Foreign
Language Publishing House in Pyongyang, the present leader,
Kim Jong Il, explains the views of the Korean leadership.
Anyone wanting to understand the amazing resiliency of this
besieged nation should read this pamphlet.
Here are some excerpts from Kim's work.
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF IDEOLOGICAL WORK:
"For a working-class party, which struggles for the masses'
independence, no undertaking is more important than
ideological work. The working-class party is by nature a
leading political organization which awakens the popular
masses on the strength of ideology, and which organizes them
for the revolution and construction. Ideology is the only
and the most powerful weapon of the working-class party.
Only when it holds fast to ideology as the main factor and
does ideological work before all other work can the working-
class party fulfill its mission and duty as the leading
political organization which sets the pace for the masses'
independence.
"Without ideological work, it would be impossible for
socialism to emerge, exist and develop. Capitalism, an
exploiting system which replaced feudal subordination with
subordination by capital, grew up within the framework of
feudal society; but socialism, a new system, radically
different from all the exploiting systems, cannot grow up
within the framework of capitalist society. Socialist
ideology emerges as a reflection of the class demand of the
exploited working masses who fight against domination by
capital. The socialist system is born of the struggle of the
popular masses who are awakened to socialist ideology."
ON ECONOMIC RELATIONS:
"Socialist economic relations are the economic, material
basis of socialist ideology. Socialist economic relations,
whose major component is socialist ownership, provide the
popular masses with material conditions for them to acquire
and consolidate socialist ideology. Therefore, the
consolidation and development of socialist economic
relations have a major effect on equipping the popular
masses with socialist ideology. The socio-economic basis for
the emergence of outmoded ideas disappears with the
establishment of the socialist system.
"However, ideological, technological and cultural
backwardness handed down from the old society and various
other related vestiges remain for a historical period. These
serve as a hotbed for the growth of non-socialist
ideological elements. To solidly arm all members of
socialist society with socialist ideology, we must preserve
socialist ownership. We must steadily consolidate and
develop socialist economic relations, and gradually overcome
the vestiges of the old society which remain in socio-
economic relations and many other areas of social life.
"If remnants of old society in socialist society are
encouraged to grow, or capitalist economic management
methods are introduced into socialist economic management,
or worse still, if capitalist ownership is revived by
encroaching upon socialist ownership, this will result in
the economic, material basis of socialist ideology being
pulled down, and conditions created for the growth of
individualism, selfishness and other bourgeois ideas.
Private ownership inevitably gives birth to individualism
and bourgeois ideas inevitably grow and spread on the soil
of capitalist ownership and the capitalist market economy.
Socialism is incompatible with private ownership and the
capitalist market economy."
ON BOURGEOIS IDEOLOGY:
"In any society, the ruling class tries to bring about the
unchallenged predominance of its own ideology. In capitalist
society, where the society is split into classes and
people's interests conflict, one ideology cannot hold
undivided sway and it is inevitable that different ideas
exist. The imperialists and their mouthpieces claim the
existence of these ideas is a source of pride for the 'free
world.' However, progressive ideas can never develop freely
in capitalist society, where the means of propaganda and
education such as the mass media are in the hands of
monopoly capitalists and reactionary rulers. The reactionary
bourgeois ruling class tolerates progressive ideas to some
extent, to make capitalist society seem democratic; but when
they are considered the slightest threat to its ruling
system, it mercilessly suppresses them....
"Imperialists and renegade socialists abuse the ideological
education carried out in socialist society as
'regimentation' and 'ideological indoctrination.' This is an
absurd fabrication which throws mud at socialism. It is a
falsehood aimed at justifying the deceptive and reactionary
nature of bourgeois propaganda.
"Socialist ideology develops the masses into independent
people who are conscious of their independence and creative
ability, while reactionary bourgeois ideas reduce them to
servants who obey the domination of capital. ..."
ON BUREAUCRACY:
"[W]e must intensify the struggle against abuse of power and
bureaucracy, corruption and irregularities among cadres.
These evils are products of an exploitative society; they
are rooted in individualism and selfishness. In socialist
society, they cannot be tolerated. In socialist society, a
cadre is not a bureaucrat lording it over people but their
servant. If abuses of power and bureaucracy, corruption and
irregularities are allowed to spread among cadres, this will
crack the unity and cohesion of the party and popular
masses, and prevent socialism from displaying its vitality."
ON REVISIONISM:
"Revisionism is a counter-revolutionary, opportunist
ideological trend which emasculates socialism's
revolutionary principles. The greatest harm of revisionism
is that it denies the position and role of the party and
leader in the revolution and construction; it weakens the
role of socialist power, creates illusions about capitalism
and disarms people ideologically. In the long run,
revisionism abandons socialism and leads to capitalism."
- END -
(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to
copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: torstai 21. kes�kuu 2001 11:16
Subject: [WW] South Korean Auto Worker Tours U.S.
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the June 28, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
BUILDING SOLIDARITY AGAINST GM: SOUTH KOREAN AUTO
WORKER TOURS U.S.
By Sharon Black
Baltimore
A representative of fighting auto workers in South Korea has
been touring the United States. In every city Kwang-Jun Yu
is met with solidarity and enthusiasm by workers and
community activists.
Yu is director of policy for the Daewoo Motor Workers Union
and has been meeting with unionists and activists to let
them know about the fight to stop a General Motors takeover
of Daewoo Motors. The U.S. auto giant is forcing Daewoo to
close plants and lay off thousands of workers before it
steps in.
Yu was cheered in Columbia, S.C., on June 9 at a rally of
thousands of workers who had gathered to support the case of
the Charleston 5. He condemned racism and police brutality,
comparing the police attacks on longshore workers in that
Southern city to ones that the Daewoo workers have suffered
and stressing the need for international solidarity. Ken
Riley, president of the union local in Charleston under
attack, posed for pictures with Kwang-Jun Yu.
In New York City, Yu spoke at a packed International Action
Center meeting. Student interns with the group learned of
the role of the International Monetary Fund and giant U.S.
corporations like GM in carrying out union-busting in
southern Korea. During his New York stay, Yu met with UNITE
and AFSCME union organizers.
Boston school bus drivers from Steel Workers Local 8751
greeted Kwang-Jun Yu at a morning meeting at their work
site. He then joined an organizing picket line of the
Painters and Allied Trades District 35 at the Harbor Towers
Hotel on Boston's waterfront. The president of the Greater
Boston Labor Council, Tony Ramano, committed to drafting a
resolution in support of the Daewoo workers.
In Baltimore, television crews from the local Fox network
covered Yu's press conference in front of the GM
manufacturing plant. As in many other cities, he was greeted
with enthusiasm and support at local strike sites.
First, he attended and spoke at a rally of the striking Up-
to-Date laundry workers, who are organizing with the UNITE
union. Two hours later, Yu was at a picket line of SEIU
Justice for Janitors.
That evening the All Peoples Congress hosted a standing-room-
only solidarity rally. Community activists and trade
unionists stayed for over four hours in brutal heat to hear
the speakers. They watched a recent video of a police attack
against the Daewoo workers, their eyes filled with horror
and tears. Many in the audience had experienced police
brutality and killings in Baltimore and could identify with
the Daewoo workers.
The meeting was co-chaired by Sylvia Seymour, the vice
president of AFSCME Local 112. Her local had provided
transportation for All Peoples Congress members and Kwang-
Jun Yu to the Charleston 5 rally. She presented Yu with a
special picture plaque to demonstrate the group's
solidarity.
Fred Mason, statewide director of organizing for the AFL-
CIO, made an impassioned speech for solidarity, condemning
GM and global capital. He received a standing ovation as he
shook hands with Kwang-Jun Yu. The tour is continuing on the
West Coast in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Jeff Bigelow, tour coordinator and volunteer labor
coordinator for the Baltimore All Peoples Congress and
International Action Center, says, "This tour is already a
resounding success. It has helped to educate workers,
community activists and students on the important issues
facing the labor movement in southern Korea. It has drawn
the links between workers' and community struggles here. And
it has taught us about the role of the IMF and the banks. It
has also connected the issues of police brutality and the
use of Pentagon troops to enforce the rule of the big banks.
"The next step is to seek concrete ways to lend support to
the Daewoo workers."
- END -
(Copyright 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: torstai 21. kes�kuu 2001 11:16
Subject: [WW] Bush's Europe Trip Kindles Huge Protests
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the June 28, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
AFTER KYOTO & ABM ULTIMATUMS: BUSH'S EUROPE TRIP
KINDLES HUGE PROTESTS
Swedish Cops Shoot Anti-Capitalist Youths
By Greg Butterfield
Police in Gothenburg, Sweden, shot and wounded three people
with live ammunition during a militant anti-capitalist
protest at the European Union summit meeting June 15. One
young protester shot in the stomach was critically injured
as he fled police.
Meanwhile, behind closed doors and under heavy police guard,
15 heads of European capitalist governments discussed the
continent's future, including plans to expand their role in
formerly socialist Eastern Europe while creating a "Fortress
Europe" to stop immigration from Asia, the Middle East and
Africa.
The unexpectedly large demonstrations and fierce street
battles between cops and activists-together with Irish
voters' overwhelming rejection of EU expansion plans in a
June 7 referendum-shook the conference.
All the heads of state, from new far-right Italian Prime
Minister Silvio Berlusconi to fake "socialists" like
Germany's Gerhard Schroeder and Britain's Tony Blair,
denounced the protests. They vowed to enact draconian
measures and restrictions against protesters at future
meetings of the capitalist powers.
'BUSH NOT WELCOME!'
On June 14, between 12,000 and 16,000 people had marched in
Gothenburg to protest "Toxic Texan" George W. Bush's
appearance with the European heads of state. Organizers of
the march, "Bush Not Welcome," called it "the largest anti-
imperialist manifestation in Sweden since the Vietnam War."
Communist youths carried thousands of red flags bearing
pictures of Che Guevara and Mao Zedong. Other banners
denounced U.S. support for the Israeli massacres of
Palestinians, called for solidarity with Black U.S.
political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, and supported socialist
Cuba and the armed struggle in Colombia.
The march was initiated by the Communist Party Marxist-
Leninist (revolutionary) of Sweden--the KPML(r)--and
endorsed by many left parties, anti-EU groups,
environmentalists and labor unions.
"A mass murderer has arrived in our city today," declared
KPML(r) International Secretary Teddy-John Frank, who spoke
at the rally. "There is talk about crooks in the world and
rogue states. But the real crook is George W. Bush and the
real rogue state is the USA."
Swedish police bragged of their "ring of steel" to protect
Bush: cops in riot gear guarding two rows of six-foot-tall
steel barricades that sealed off a two-block area around the
conference center.
IMPERIALIST RIVALRY BEHIND CHUMMY EXTERIOR
In media accounts much was made of the "cordial atmosphere"
that surrounded Bush's discussions with his European
counterparts, even though they oppose the U.S. National
Missile Defense scheme, Bush's deep-sixing of the Kyoto
treaty on greenhouse gases, and his insistence on keeping
the death penalty.
No one inside the conference wanted to embarrass or even
openly challenge the U.S. chief executive.
But in the streets, youths, labor unions, communists,
anarchists and EU opponents exposed Bush and the European
leaders as toadies of big capital.
What underlies the differences between Washington and the
imperialist governments in Paris, Berlin, London, and
elsewhere became apparent after Bush left the conference.
He raced off to Poland to start his real mission: pushing
for immediate expansion of the U.S.-dominated NATO military
alliance.
Republicans and Democrats in Washington eagerly want to
march the Pentagon to Russia's border by bringing all the
formerly socialist countries of Eastern Europe into NATO.
There is strong opposition to the plan, not only in Russia
but among anti-war forces throughout Europe.
At the same time, the European imperialists are trying to
consolidate themselves as a competitive bloc to the United
States. They desperately want to extend their own "sphere of
influence" by bringing Eastern Europe into the EU and
creating a military structure independent of the Pentagon.
Despite the Irish "no" vote, the EU leaders declared a
target date of 2004 to grant several Eastern European
countries membership.
THE BATTLE OF GOTHENBURG
The police strategy in Gothenburg was similar to the one
used in Quebec during last April's Summit of the Americas. A
large security ring was placed around the meeting site.
Protests were allowed only at a distance.
There is strong opposition to the EU in Sweden. According to
recent polls, a majority of Swedes would like the country to
leave the alliance. They also oppose the militarization of
the EU.
These demands were put forward by one of the two major
coalitions that organized the June 14-17 protests, Network
Gothenburg 2001, consisting of many of the traditional left
parties, the anti-EU movement and labor.
A second coalition, Gothenburg Action 2001, rallied anti-
globalization forces under the slogan, "For a different
Europe."
After Thursday's successful anti-Bush protest, the police
began to systematically target protesters for attack.
They surrounded a school where hundreds of activists were
staying and sealed it off. Thousands of protesters gathered
nearby to demand their comrades' release. They hurled stones
and bottles at the cops. The police charged demonstrators on
horseback.
But the activists fought back. Some managed to pull cops off
their horses while others torched police vehicles.
The fierce street battle forced the cops to back off and
allow those in the school to leave.
Police arrested 440 people on the first day.
Media independent of the EU and U.S. governments-including
the Independent Media Center and the newspapers Junge Welt
and Il Manifesto-all reported that police took a very
aggressive posture on Friday, the day of the shootings.
Clubs, dogs and horses were used throughout the day. IMC
Radio-Sweden reported that a man was dragged from his car
and beaten by cops.
Youths fought pitched battles with the police along the
city's main streets, sometimes completely taking them over.
Protesters ripped up cobblestones, smashed bank windows and
erected flaming barricades.
Marchers got within a mile of the conference center. One
small group managed to scale the fence before being
arrested.
The protests forced the EU officials to cancel their dinner
at a posh restaurant. Instead, they stayed behind the wall
of police protection.
At about 8 p.m. youths began to regroup for a "Reclaim the
Streets" dance near the city university. According to
eyewitnesses, a squad of police provocateurs pelted the
group with rocks. Protesters chased them and cornered them.
That's when the cops opened fire.
The police immediately released a story to the media
claiming that a cop had been injured and another had fired
his weapon in self-defense.
But media activists exposed that as a lie. Videotape and
still photos of the incident clearly show the police firing
at fleeing protesters.
At least 43 people were hospitalized on Friday, and over 600
were arrested.
Despite the police violence and government warnings to stay
home, 25,000 people came out on Saturday in a "For a
Different Europe" march. Many local people came to protest
the police brutality and show solidarity with the injured
and arrested activists.
That night, at about 10:30, a police "anti-terrorist squad"
raided another school where activists had returned to sleep.
Tove, a young woman staying at the Schillerska School,
reported: "When they arrived they had automatic guns with
lasers. They ordered me and my friend to lie down on the
ground. It was very wet and cold after the rain. I was hit
with a baton because I wasn't fast enough."
The next day, June 17, demonstrations across Europe
protested the shootings and demanded those still in jail be
released.
WHAT NEXT?
The European heads of state, who meet behind closed doors to
decide how best to rule in the interests of big business,
called the Gothenburg protests "anti-democratic."
German Chancellor Schroeder said: "We have to pursue these
rioters with all the might of the law. No country should
tolerate these criminals." He said he would try to enact
laws to stop known activists from traveling between
countries.
Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi announced that the city of
Genoa would be completely shut down for four days in July
during a Group of 8 summit meeting. "The airport, main train
stations and key motorway junctions will all be closed from
July 18 to 22 in an attempt to restrict access to tens of
thousands of demonstrators who plan to converge on the
city," the London Observer reported June 17.
Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson vowed to make it
easier for cops to use teargas, water cannons and rubber
bullets against protesters. Starting in 2002, all European
summits will be held in Brussels, Belgium, in a fortress-
like location.
The turnout and militancy of protesters in Gothenburg is
powerful evidence of the continuing vitality of the movement
that began in Seattle in 1999.
Sweden has long been considered a bastion of liberal social
democracy. But when confronted with a militant anti-
capitalist movement, the state's response was to use deadly
force.
If this is how the most liberal capitalist state responds to
unarmed protesters, how will the capitalist rulers in
general respond when they feel their power is truly
threatened? What will the workers, oppressed and youths need
to do to fight and win an end to capitalist exploitation,
racism and environmental degradation?
These are questions that revolutionary communists must be
prepared to discuss, debate and answer as the new movement
searches for ways to take the struggle further.
- END -
(Copyright 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)
