The student movement in Greece: the first battle is won but the war continues The strength of the Greek student movement has been truly amazing in these recent weeks. It forced even the conservative bureaucracy of the trade unions to organise a solidarity strike with the students. In the mass assemblies the students concluded that there should now be a pause and the movement should prepare to remobilise in September.
Scottish Socialists on the verge of a split The Scottish Socialist Party is being torn apart by an internal wrangle that was sparked off back in 2004 by a dispute between its leading figure, Tommy Sheridan, and the News of the Worldnewspaper about his personal life. All genuine socialists back the SSP against attacks by the state, but questions need to be asked of why the party has reached this sorry state.
Referendum on the Catalan Estatut: Victory for the “Yes” but with a huge abstention On June 18, a referendum was held in Catalonia (Spain) on the new Estatut.A big majority voted “yes” but the level of abstention was very high, with only 49.5% turning out on the day. Abstention was particularly high in the working class areas. The massive “yes” vote was more a vote againstthe right-wing PP than an enthusiastic vote for the Estatut itself.
The future of the left in Ukraine This weekend (24-25 June) over 100 activists gathered from all over Ukraine, as well as from Russia and Moldova, to discuss the way forward for the left in Ukraine. The conference was organized by the editorial boards of the website Communist.ru (and its paper Protiv Techeniya, Against the stream) and the youth site Contr.info and the youth organization Che Guevara.
Bush visit to Vienna provokes mass protest against imperialism and war The visit of George W. Bush to Vienna for the EU-US-summit is over. The Austrian police forces were given a great opportunity to test their "emergency procedures" under the guidance of the CIA while thousands of people demonstrated against Bush and the imperialist policies he stands for.
Britain: Peugeot Coventry - The Fight Continues Peugeot is planning to move production from its Coventry plant in the UK to Slovakia. There labour costs are one quarter of what they are in the UK. Capitalists have no concern for their workers. They go where they can maximise profits. The only answer is nationalisation under workers’ control.
Afghani Refugees Hunger Strike In Norway A recent hunger strike of Afghani refugees threatened with repatriation from Norway has highlighted the imperialist interests of this Scandinavian country. Could repatriation have anything to do with the fact that Norway has taken part in the bombing of Afghanistan?
Irish Republican Socialists stress central role of the working class “We urge all republicans to turn towards the working class movements, get active in the unions, and raise issues that while relevant to the immediate interests of working also form a bridge towards more radical and revolutionary demands.” We reproduce the editorial from the latest e-mail newsletter The Plough (Volume 3, Number 25, 14 June 2006) of the IRSP. We have their kind permission to reproduce it.
Greece: the government is retreating – the student movement is insisting Last Thursday Greece witnessed another massive mobilisation of the students. The government is adopting delaying tactics. In the meantime the students have appealed directly to the union leaders to call a general strike, which is to take place this Thursday.
Greece - a powerful student movement is shaking the right wing government Greece is being rocked by the biggest student mobilisations for more than 20 years. Faculties have been occupied all over the country and the movement is instinctively turning to the workers for help, calling on the unions to organise a general strike.
Asbestos - The Deadly Legacy The number of people diagnosed with asbestos related diseases has been growing. This reveals the widespread use of this extremely toxic substance, which was not only used in industry but is present in many buildings today. Claims for compensation cost. That is why insurance companies have been lobbying – successfully – to get the laws changed in order to reduce payouts.
Blair Goes Nuclear Despite the almost incessant rainfall Britain is officially in a drought. There can be no doubt that climate change is contributing to changing weather patterns to adversely affect our water supply. This is a foretaste of what conditions will be like here in the not too distant future if something is not done to halt and reverse the destruction of our environment on a global scale.
Denmark: Biggest demonstrations in 20 years against so-called reforms of the government On Wednesday May 17 more than 100,000 people gathered in squares in all the major cities across Denmark to demonstrate against the so-called welfare “reforms” of the right-wing government.
In a meeting with Chavez and Morales - Debate over socialism at Alternative Forum in Vienna! After the historical meeting at the Arena cultural centre in Vienna, Venezuela President Hugo Chavez was once again the main attraction, this time at the closing meeting of the Alternative Forum in Austria. Chavez, who took the opportunity to expand upon some of the ideas he presented at the Arena, was joined on the platform by Carlos Lage, the Vice President of Cuba, and Evo Morales, amongst others.
Three hundred people attend “Hands Off Venezuela!” seminar at European Social Forum On May 7, the Greek Hands Off Venezuela! committee, together with the German group Network Cuba and the Marxist journal Marxistiki Foni, organised an important seminar on the Bolivarian Revolution. Close to 300 people turned up making the event an important step in strengthening solidarity work in Greece.
