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Us Hands Off Venezuela! AUSTRALIA $1.50 · CANADA $1.50 · FRANCE 1.00 EURO · NEW ZEALAND $1.50 · UK £.50 · U.S. $1.00 INSIDE Kurdish union leader: Workers faced years of tyranny, war — PAGE 6 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE Vol. 83/no. 19 May 13, 2019 NY Workers US hands off Venezuela! Memorial Day: US hands off Cuba! No one needs Washington steps up its war threats, as coup attempt fails to die on the job BY BRIAN WIllIAMS AND JANET POST NEW YORK — “I’m going to fall!” 51-year-old Nelson Salinas yelled as he clung to a scaffold suspended seven sto- ries high against a building in midtown Manhattan April 8. He had been hit in the head by a falling stone pried loose from the top of the building while work was being done to restore it. Salinas was rescued but died in the hospital shortly afterwards. He had worked in construc- tion for 20 years. Salinas’ death and that of two other construction workers here that week, aren’t “accidents,” but the result of the bosses’ relentless drive for profits. Com- panies and contractors have increasing- Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini Hundreds of thousands of people march during May Day rally in Havana to protest U.S. threats. Banner says, “Unity, Commitment and Victory.” ly pushed unions out of more and more sites, pressuring workers to go harder BY SETH GALINSKY Party has issued a call to action, urging and called on army officials to over- and faster. This means rising deaths and In the aftermath of a failed U.S.- working people to organize and join in throw the government. injuries on the job. backed coup in Venezuela, packaged protests, forums and other actions de- Guaidó and U.S. officials spread ru- As the Workers Memorial Day mass as an “uprising” by pro-imperialist op- manding U.S. hands off Venezuela! U.S. mors that high-ranking military officials here showed, most of those paying with position figure Juan Guaidó, Washing- hands off Cuba! had agreed to back a coup. But the at- their lives for the bosses’ profit drive are ton is stepping up threats against revo- tempt fell flat after a short exchange of Continued on page 7 lutionary Cuba. The Socialist Workers CALL TO ACTION: fire. Several leading officers rumored Continued on page 5 OPPOSE US MOVES May 1 actions demand driver’s — SWP statement page 8 Guaidó’s April 30 move to oust Ven- As Beijing and licenses, amnesty for immigrants ezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was his most provocative action yet. Washington The self-declared “acting president” showed up outside a military base in Caracas, accompanied by a small talk trade deal, group of National Guard defectors, rivalry deepens BY ROY LANDERSEN Join the fight to For over a year, punishing tariffs by Washington, and Beijing’s tit-for- tat levies on U.S. products have roiled overturn Florida world trade. Now talks between the two governments point to a possible prison censorship accommodation reflecting the relation- ship of forces between the two powers, of the ‘Militant’ at least for now. BY SETH GALINSKY The U.S. rulers are trying to stave off After months of noninterference, a growing challenge from Beijing’s ex- Florida prison authorities have banned panding capitalist economy alongside three issues of the Militant since April advances in its political and military 12, violating the constitutional rights of power in Asia and beyond. Militant/Seth Galinsky Continued on page 8 Marchers in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, chanted “Licenses yes, promises no” on May Day. both the socialist newsweekly and its Handmade signs were everywhere. For many it was their first time joining a protest action. readers behind bars. The jailers falsely charged that each of BY LEA SHERMAN pay and then going after all others — the issues “encourages activities which Northern New Jersey/New York PERTH AMBOY, N.J. — More and boost profits. Fighting for amnes- may lead to the use of physical violence Militant Labor Forum than 250 people from across the state ty is key to unify the labor movement. or group disruption” or “otherwise pres- US hands off — including construction, restaurant “I decided I had to do something,” ents a threat to the security, good order, and factory workers and small-busi- said one young worker, who didn’t or discipline” of the prison. Venezuela! ness people — marched here May 1 want to give her name. It was her For issue no. 12, they cite an article on US hands off Cuba! to demand driver’s licenses for un- first protest ever. Drivers without li- protests against the acquittal of the cop Saturday, May 4, 7 p.m. documented immigrants. Sponsored censes, face steep fines, jail and even who shot and killed 22-year-old Stephon by Cosecha, it was one of many May deportation. Clark in Sacramento, California, last 307 W. 36th St., 13th floor Day actions across the country. The demand for driver’s licenses March. For issue no. 15 they point to an New York [Manhattan] U.S. capitalists use immigrant labor for all was at the center of many of the article about the speaking tour of Albert For similar forums in other cities to lower all workers’ wages — using actions nationwide. The Militant will Woodfox, who spent nearly 44 years in see www.themilitant.com undocumented status to slash their have more coverage next week. Continued on page 8 Speakout protests Beijing’s New Zealand picket defends women’s right to abortion repression of Uighur people BY EDwin Fruit are forced to undergo indoctrina- REDMOND, Wash. — “We are not tion sessions, sing hymns praising an ethnic minority but an indepen- the Chinese Communist Party and dent people with a long history. The write essays of self-criticism. Learn- Chinese government is attempting to ing Mandarin is mandatory. They’re wipe this out,” Duke University stu- forbidden to fast during Ramadan. dent Aydin Anwar told a speakout Solitary confinement, beatings and at the Muslim Association of Puget torture are used to try to break those Sound here April 19. who buck the authoritarian rules. Close to 100 people attended the event, which was called to oppose Fight for independence the oppression of the Uighur people Anwar described how the Uighur by Chinese authorities. Uighurs are people established an East Turkistan a Turkic-speaking, largely Muslim Republic in 1944, as Japanese colo- people who live in a region they call nial rule in China was overturned. Militant/Felicity Coggan East Turkistan. Chinese authorities This republic was then overthrown AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Supporters of a woman’s right to choose refer to the area as Xinjiang, a huge after the 1949 Chinese Revolution by abortion were welcomed by passersby April 13 as they picketed in defense of expanse of northwest China border- the newly established Chinese gov- the Auckland Medical Aid Centre here, which provides abortion. The picket ing Central Asia. ernment led by Mao Zedong. was the third in a series organized by Auckland Feminist Action to counter “Forty Days for Life” anti-abortion actions organized annually at the clinic. “We are calling for an end to the In the discussion period, other Ui- “Abortion is a medical procedure that should be safe and readily avail- concentration camps,” said Anwar, ghurs explained how they are pre- able,” 22-year-old engineering student Melanie Duff told Communist League an activist in the East Turkistan Na- vented from communicating with members at the protest. “If it’s hard to get, that doesn’t stop people getting tional Awakening organization, and relatives in China and fear what will abortions. It just makes them more unsafe.” for “the right to practice our reli- be done to their family members there In New Zealand abortion is deemed illegal under the Crimes Act unless gion, wear traditional clothing and to if they speak out here against the Chi- a series of criteria are met. Women must satisfy two doctors — “certifying speak our languages.” nese government’s repression. consultants” — that they are legally qualified to have the procedure. The vast She described how the Chinese gov- Anwar described how Beijing has majority of abortions that are permitted are on grounds that continuation of ernment attempts to erase any national stepped up surveillance of Uighurs, the pregnancy would endanger the woman’s mental health. or cultural identity for the Uighurs. placing cameras everywhere across A report commissioned by the Labour-led coalition government last Oc- They can be jailed for using East Xinjiang. In some cases Uighur fami- tober proposed repeal of criminal offenses for abortion, a move promised by Turkistan as the name of their home- lies are forced to have Chinese mind- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the party’s 2017 election campaign. But her land or displaying the region’s tradi- ers live with them. government hasn’t introduced the legislation. tional flag. To bolster their domination She also reported that leading Ui- “Abortion should be like any other medical procedure,” Duff said. “Women of East Turkistan the Chinese govern- ghur public figures and supporters should be able to go to their family doctor, rather than having to convince the ment fostered the immigration of Han of independence have recently been provider that they are mentally or physically unfit. It’s demeaning to women.” Chinese into the region. Today they “disappeared” for opposing Beijing’s — FELICITY COGGAN comprise 40% of the population there. repressive measures. These include Anwar described how the Chinese the former president of the Univer- government has organized the in- sity of Xinjiang, sentenced to death Supporters of the Chinese rulers for markets and expanding their sway definite detention of over a million for “separatist tendencies,” and Ilham have attempted to silence those who across Asia and elsewhere.
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