Iraqi Resistance Reaches New High

WORKERS OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!

No 1340 Week commencing 6 May 2005 Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain 50p IRAQI RESISTANCE REACHES NEW HIGH

by our Arab Affairs Correspondent Scottish Division and the entire Guards Division. The IRAQI partisans are stepping up the fight against army predicts that only Anglo-American imperialism with a crescendo of 1,400 recruits will join the attacks throughout the country that resistance infantry this year, a fall of sources say topped 200 a day this week. 35 per cent. Desertions have doubled and there are A new puppet govern- recruitment centre, killing now 500 soldiers absent ment was sworn in this and wounding hundreds in without leave. week, despite having failed Arbil, the “capital” of what The candid report to attract any prominent the imperialists once called which appeared in the Tory members of the Sunni the Kurdish “safe-haven” Sunday newspaper quoted Muslim community to its in northern Iraq. a senior officer saying: “We ranks. And ambushes, Rumours are flying are fighting an unpopular street battles and bombings about a meeting between war. A lot of young soldiers have sent the puppet re- US defence secretary have died and parents of 15, gime reeling and pushed Donald Rumsfeld and im- 16 and 17 year-olds are tell- the US-led army of occu- prisoned former Iraqi ing their children not to join pation back onto the defen- leader Saddam Hussein the army because of this. sive. when Rumsfeld visited The assumption is that the In Baghdad resistance Baghdad earlier in the year. parents of would-be re- fighters gunned down cruits don’t trust the Gov- guards at the US prison offered ernment and they are tell- holding former president • Most of the occupiers losses are American. ing their children not to join Saddam Hussein and inten- An Egyptian magazine pan is going to throw in the demonstrations at the time army are under strength, up.” sified their bombardment claims that Rumsfeld of- towel and join the others and their continued pres- the Sunday Telegraph re- • Eight-eight British ser- of the international airport, fered Saddam his freedom, like the Dutch and the ence in Iraq at America’s vealed last weekend in a vicemen have been killed forcing the only commer- together with “generous fi- Ukrainians who are scut- request has been a source report that stated that se- and some 800 more cial carriers that use the nancial assistance and se- tling out of Iraq this year. of bitter rancour in the nior officers fear that some wounded in the Iraq airport, Iraqi Airways and curity” for a life in exile if A Tokyo news agency, Japanese parliament ever regiments will be unable to campaign. According to Royal Jordanian, to cancel the Baathist leader agreed quoting unidentified since. take part in operations in the Pentagon a total of all flights in and out of the to publicly condemn “ter- sources, claims that Japan Iraq without significant re- 1,772 members of the Iraqi capital. rorism” on Iraqi television will withdraw its 550 troops plummeting inforcements from other US-led occupation army American high com- and order his supporters to currently on “non-combat” parts of the army. have been killed and over mand confirmed that two of “stop these acts”. Accord- operations in southern Iraq The war that sent Tony Thirty-eight of the 12,200 wounded since their warplanes went down ing to the alleged transcript by the end of the year. Blair’s personal popularity army’s 40 infantry battal- the war began in March on Monday in south-cen- of their conversation, The despatch of the plummeting to below zero ions are under strength in- 2003. Most of the US-led tral Iraq, officially put down Saddam dismissed troops, Japan’s largest levels is also taking its toll cluding all three battalions “coalition” losses are to a “collision” in bad Rumsfeld’s offer with the overseas military deploy- on army recruitment. of the Parachute Regi- American. weather. And a suicide contempt that it deserved. ment since the Second Some 90 per cent of the ment, all six infantry regi- bomber destroyed a police It also appears that Ja- World War, provoked mass fighting units of the British ments that make up the FUND

It has been another poor Bereaved families may sue Blair week for the fund with just £157.58 coming in for the last week in April. This by Daphne Liddle laboration between Bush try that held weapons of the WMDs and I began to mother Rose Gentle, who brought the April total to and Blair in the year before mass destruction.” think about the legal implica- stood in East Kilbride against £2439.71 which is £560.29 RELATIVES of British sol- the attack on Iraq emerged, The letter pointed out that tions. Now I know that Tony the Armed Forces minister short of our monthly £3,000 diers killed in Iraq last week Blair has blustered and the recent publication of le- Blair lied. He sent my son to Adam Ingram. target. took the first steps towards claimed it was all down to his gal opinion on the war by the his death needlessly.” Paul Shiner, the solicitor We thank our regular suing him over the legality judgement. He claims he still attorney general on 7th March Sergeant Simon representing the families, north London pensioner of the war. thinks his course of action 2003 and the leaks of official Hamilton-Jewell was killed said the request for a public comrade for £27.40, our Ten families delivered a was correct as though he documents “threw into doubt near Basra in June 2003. His inquiry was straightforward. London Scot for £10, a letter to Downing Street last was not slavishly following the supposed justification brother Tony accused Blair of The families had lost their Woking comrade for Tuesday, warning that there Bush all the time. and rationale for the war”. “lying and lying again” and loved ones and were entitled £41.68, an East Anglia com- would be an immediate ap- Blair has been more and The letter continued: “A added: “The man is covering to know that the conflict had rade for £20 and a Vauxhall plication for judicial review more obviously a lame-duck reasonable suspicion arises up for himself and his gov- been legal. New Worker supporter for unless the Prime Minister leader and a liability to the that you committed the UK to ernment. He has to be ex- He said the position had £50. Literature sales have agreed to a full public inquiry Labour Party. war on the basis of regime posed. changed significantly after brought in another £8.50. within 14 days. change” – knowing that Lord “Mr Blair was right about the publication of the attorney By the time you read Blair at the time was on new group Goldsmith warned this was three letters, but it wasn’t general’s advice the Blair. It this, the election will be a whistle-stop tour of mar- an unlawful basis for war. WMD but O-I-L.” was now known that the over. Whatever the result, ginal constituencies. In The bereaved families The families say that one Prime Minister committed the struggle will go on. The Gloucester a Muslim voter have formed an umbrella soldier’s wife has already Blair’s fault himself to regime change af- working class will still be confronted Blair, demanding group, Military Families been told by an insurance ter he had been warned fighting an uphill battle for to know if he could still be Against the War, which has company that her husband Ann Toward lost her about the legality of the war. better wages and conditions trusted after taking Britain into also lodged papers with the was no longer covered while guardsman husband just A new law passed just and the ruling class will the illegal war. International Criminal Court serving in Iraq because the last week. She said: “It is Tony before the Government was still be ravaging the globe “Tony, can we trust you in The Hague over the British war could be illegal. Blair’s fault. He sent all these dissolved for the election for as much profit as it can after Iraq?” asked use of cluster bombs against Peter Brierly, who lost his troops out. If he hadn’t sent gives the Government make. Muhammad Jaffer. “We have Iraqis. son Shaun, said: “My son them out the Anthony would sweeping powers to limit and control all future inquiries. And this paper will be lost hundreds of lives, thou- The letter delivered by the went to war thinking he was still be alive.” in the thick of the struggle. sands of lives. We got the bereaved families said: going to make the world safe One of the signatories to But public anger over the Help us do our bit for the impression you were just fol- “Each of our clients’ loved from weapons of mass de- the letter was Reg Keys, workers’ of the world by lowing Bush.” ones were killed when they struction. I believed that ar- whose son died in Iraq. He war and Blair’s lies is growing so much that the new sending whatever you can Throughout the election had been told by you that they gument made by the Prime stood against Blair in to the New Worker Fund, campaign, as one damaging were fighting a war that was Minister as well. Thursday’s election in his government may not have the nerve to use these new pow- PO Box 73, London SW11 secret after another about the fully justified in international “As time went by it was Sedgefield constituency. 2PQ. legality of the war and col- law in order to disarm a coun- proved that they did not have Another was bereaved ers. Page 2 THE NEW WORKER 6 May 2005 email: [email protected] News Desk 020 7223 4050

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The life expectancy gap Flying the flag between rich and poor in to become remote control big a lawsuit issued last week. game hunters by shooting a Weekly paper of the New Communist Party Britain is now as wide as it Bruce Kuhlman, who was Police in southern Ger- was in Victorian times. rifle at a variety of animals on head of Santana’s licensing many are baffled by the ap- People are living longer but a fenced-in Texas ranch. operations, said he was pearance of small United the gap between rich and But he has upset his fel- sacked after Dr Dan, a “spiri- States flags stuck into dog poor has widened over the low countrymen by doing so. tual guru”, told Santana that turds in parks. last decade. They do not object to shoot- Kuhlman was too old to be- “This has been going The next step An analysis published ing animals so much as doing come enlightened. on for about a year now,” last week in the British it online. Now legislators He is now suing for said Bayreuth parks admin- Medical Journal on the across the US are working out £550,000 compensation be- istrator Josef Oetti, “and WORKERS GET LITTLE out of bourgeois period between 1992 and how to close down the opera- cause Californian labour laws there must be 2,000 to 3,000 elections. Whoever wins the ruling class will 2003 says: “When indi- tion. make it illegal to sack some- piles of excrement that still be there living off the backs of working vidual local authority dis- one on the grounds of their have been thus adorned. tricts are compared [for Spend it now religious creed. Legal opinion is that no law people in Britain and throughout the world. men] the difference be- has been broken. But we do get the chance to keep the most re- tween the one with the low- The 99-year-old Bank of Licence revoked actionary of the mainstream parties out of office est life expectancy, Ephraim in Arizona went bank- Robbing the poor and to elect the only party that is historically and Glasgow City, and the one rupt after lending $18 million Belgium’s security forces organisationally linked to the trade union movement with the highest, East to members of a Mormon sect last week disarmed nearly all Mobile phone opera- – the Labour Party. We also get the chance to raise Dorset, has risen by 11 in Utah who believe the end its field agents, according to tors are skimming off as popular demands that go far beyond the bourgeois years. of the world is nigh. press reports, after one drunk- much as 25 per cent of “Since Victorian times The fundamentalists are enly tried to shoot a colleague money donated to charity agenda or the class-collaborationist policies of Blair such inequalities have reported to be “borrowing in the head. by text message, according and his side-kicks. never been as high.” money like there was no to- Agents of the Belgian to a report from the Insti- The Labour Party has been dominated by its For women the gap has morrow”. Sûreté de l’Etat have the tute of Fundraising. right-wing throughout its history and when in office risen from 7.8 to 8.4 years. fewer powers than most other The institute is calling that right-wing has always sought to serve the domi- Not with it operatives in the western for companies like nant wing of the ruling class. Blair has aligned him- Trigger happy world. They are not even al- Vodafone and O2 to be Guitarist Carlos Santana, lowed to tap telephones. Now forced to reduce the self with the most venal, reactionary and aggres- Texan John Lockwood one of America’s richest rock they have had their handguns amount they take from sive section of the bourgeoisie – those who see their has set up an internet site musicians, recently sacked an confiscated. each donation using the interests best served in alliance with US imperial- that allows customers, for employee because he was not Now there are rumours of short messaging service ism. a fee between $1 and $3,000 “closer to God”, according to a work to rule among the (SMS). The anti-war movement vowed to make the Iraq war the key issue in this election and they have undeniably succeeded. The Tories, who supported the war, confined themselves to the question of Blair’s credibility. But the Liberal Democrats spent by Mike Fletcher and Workers Memorial Day last week parading their anti-war credentials while Caroline Colebrook ignoring that fact that it’s only this war they oppose – and that only on the grounds that they support the position of that part of the ruling class that wants to THOUSANDS of workers all close ranks with Franco-German imperialism. around Britain and the world George Galloway’s robust campaign has cer- last Thursday marched in tribute to fellow workers who tainly raised the issue in the East End of London have died through injury or but the same cannot be said for the other 25 Re- sickness as a result of their spect candidates across the country. work – and in protest at the Blair’s masters of spin tell us that the only alter- negligence of employers that native to Labour is the Tories and in one sense that’s allows so many unnecessary true as British bourgeois democracy revolves accidents to happen. In London around 300 around a two-party system. They’re also starting trades unionists gathered at to tell us that the only alternative to Blair is Gordon Bankside on the south bank Brown implying that his succession is a foregone of the Thames to march to the conclusion. new London County Hall for But there is a very real alternative to Blair and a rally with Mayor Ken Brown and what they call “New Labour” and that’s Livingstone. There were many colourful the Labour Party itself. union banners, from the con- Protest votes and maverick MPs cannot change struction union Ucatt, from the leadership of the Labour Party. Only the the Transport and General organised working class through its affiliated unions Workers’ Union, from public that provide the massive amounts of cash that keep sector union Unison and from Labour going can do that job. And that will only the general union GMB. The march passed many happen if there’s mass rank-and-file pressure on construction sites along the the leadership for change. way where workers on the • The symbolic coffin at the front of the London march. Capitalism can never solve the problems of sites were invited to join the working people nor is it intended to. It’s a system marchers for a few moments worker was killed when the stances of safety reps being In Colchester members of designed to ensure that the big bourgeoisie and those to pay respects to workers vehicle with a telescopic plat- put on the redundancy list as the Amicus general union laid who serve them live the lives of Roman emperors killed on building sites and to form (a cherry-picker) he was soon as they were appointed. a memorial stone in Castle through exploitation. All the wealth of the world is call for better safety measures. driving had overturned. The They demanded powers Park to workers who have died Some of them did. man had been given no train- for union safety reps to in- as a result of their work. produced by workers in factories and peasants in The rally at County Hall ing on how to operate the spect all sites, including non- Among the trade union- the fields. All they get in return, apart from in the was addressed by a number machine. He had not even union sites and for proper ists present were the local remaining socialist countries in Asia and the Carib- of union leaders and activists, been told there was a safety safety training – two or three trades council, the Labour bean, is a tiny fraction of the wealth they produce. including Sertuc regional sec- belt under the rubbish beside days every year – for all build- candidate for Colchester and All that “democracy” means to the bourgeoisie retary Mick Connolly, Ucatt his seat that would have ing workers, not just the local Labour councillors and is manipulating the largest number of votes by the regional secretary Jerry saved his life. bosses. members of the New Commu- smallest number of people. Marking a cross in a Swaine and Keith Norman, the Too many workers die nist Party. acting general secretary of the nature of capital because they are asked to do They discussed the need ballot box every four of five years is a meaningless train drivers’ union Aslef. potentially dangerous jobs to fight for a Labour election ritual unless it’s matched by a rising level of mili- They spoke of the 72 Chief among the demands with little or no training. victory and the local Labour tancy and struggle. The anti-war campaign reached building workers who have made was for stronger corpo- Ken Livingstone said: “I Party welcomed the NCP’s af- out to millions through mass actions on the streets died in Britain in the last year rate killing laws. “If you just wholeheartedly back the call filiation to the Labour Repre- in London and up and down the country. The de- in preventable accidents, 28 fine rich bosses for corporate for zero tolerance of prevent- sentation Committee. mands for higher wages, better pensions, decent of them in London. Most of killing it means nothing to able workplace injuries and They discussed working the accidents were from falls them,” said Jerry Swaine. deaths. together on many broad is- and affordable housing and a free health service but there had also been many “They figure that in with the sues, such as the proposed that Britain can so easily afford will only be met workers crushed, buried, or running costs and if it’s still standards vital closure of Colchester bus sta- through struggle against the employers and the bour- died when vehicles over- cheaper to ignore safety regu- tion. geois state that exists to serve the interests of the turned. lations they’ll carry on doing “As London’s construc- Other events to mark exploiters. One building inspector the same. It’s the nature of tion and transport projects Workers’ Memorial Day took What we want is real democracy – people’s de- told the crowd that it was his capitalism.” increase, world-class health place in Birmingham, Solihull, duty to step in after fatalities They also demanded and safety standards are vital Bristol, Bradford, mocracy; democracy for the masses that will pave had happened. He said: “I am more resources for the Health to maintain a world-class Cleethorpes, Coventry, the way for socialism and the end of poverty, classes not supposed to get emotion- and Safety Executive so that workforce.” Grimsby, Liverpool, Rochdale and exploitation. The struggle began in the 19th cen- ally involved but when you it can do a proper job and He promised to impose and Immingham. tury. The election is over but the battle goes on! meet the families it is very hard more powers for union safety stringent health and safety They included vigils, ob- not to.” reps on sites, including pro- conditions on all contracts for serving silences, marches, He cited one typical case tection from victimisation. work for the Greater London wreath laying and speeches where a young Ghanaian They cited many in- Authority. by union officers. 6 May 2005 THE NEW WORKER Page 3 Home News Newsdesk 020 7223 4050 Anti-stalking law against RMT marchers peace Massive turnout protesters for May Day reach London A LAW PASSED to protect people from being stalked and other forms of harassment is MAY DAY, Workers’ Day, several thousand strong – nothing to do with the tradi- THE GROUP of 25 rail work- from Glasgow to London, with being used by a Brighton com- was celebrated by thousands who had set off from tions of May Day and it has ers marching from Glasgow public meetings off the route pany involved in the illegal oc- all around Britain last Sun- Clerkenwell Green. never occurred on the May to London over the past two in Dover, Cardiff, Bristol and cupation of Iraq to prevent day with a huge variety of The march, organised by Day march itself.” weeks to demand the Exeter. anti-war protesters from cam- events. the South East Regional When they arrived in renationalisation of our rail- RMT points out that in paigning against them. TUC, was ablaze with Trafalgar Square it was to ways reached their destina- 1993-94, the year before EDO MBM Technology In London around 40,000 colourful banners and several hear music from rock singer tion last Saturday. privatisation, more than 90 per Limited managing director people filled Trafalgar Square different bands and three Pete Doherty, soul singer Terri The Rail Against cent of trains ran on time. But David Jones launched the for a Rock Concert under the choirs provided music for the Walker and rhythm and blues Privatisation (RAP) march in the year to December 2004, High Court action on behalf banner of Unite Against Fas- marchers. singer Estelle. was accompanied by hun- after a decade of privatisation, of 156 employees at the plant cism. Speaking for Sertuc, dreds of rail workers and sup- only 82.8 per cent ran on time. who claim they have been ha- They were joined by a Laurie Helsden said: “We There were also speeches porters as they went from The £4.5 billion public rassed by protesters. large and colourful march of organise our march extremely from veteran campaigner Whitehall to a public rally in subsidy paid to the railway in- Mr Justice Goss said the trade unionists and interna- well. We work very well with Tony Benn and London Camden Town Hall. dustry is now more than three primary intention of the Pro- tional community groups – the police so violence has mayor Ken Livingstone. Speakers at the rally in- times the subsidy paid to Brit- tection from Harassment Act cluded Tony Bann, RMT gen- ish Rail. was to deal with stalking but eral secretary Bob Crow, Jer- A recent report by the in- it has already been used in emy Corbyn MP, John dependent think-tank Cata- cases involving animal rights McDonnell MP, Communica- lyst calculated that £800 mil- and GM crops protests. tion Workers’ Union general lion a year is taken out of the The protesters are con- secretary Billy Hayes and industry as returns to private cerned about the impact of PCS civil service union gen- lenders and investors – a to- this law on civil liberties, the eral secretary Mark Serwotka. tal leakage of more than £6 bil- rights of free association, ex- lion since 1996. pression and protest. great reception The RMT has also Alistair Arthur said: “This pointed out that passengers ruling has brought the burden “The RAP marchers have on British railways pay the of proof for harassment so had a great reception in the highest fares per mile of any phenomenally low. 14 towns and cities they have in Europe. “A company can now just already visited,” said Bob The walk-on standard fare buy an injunction to dictate Crow. “The message they from London to Manchester the terms of protest for any- have received, loud and clear, (303 kilometres) is £93.50, one who objects to what they all along the way, is that Brit- compares to £22.70 for a simi- do. It is a ridiculous situa- ain wants a publicly owned lar distance in France, £30 in tion.” railway. Spain, £18.50 in Italy’ £42 in And Andrew Beckett said: “That is what rail users Germany and £23.54 in Bel- “This injunction, even though want, it is what the unions gium. it wasn’t in quite the terms that want and it is what the Labour EDO wanted, is still a draco- Party overwhelmingly voted only way nian assault on our civil liber- for – and it is about time that ties. choice was put before the Brit- Bob Crow said: “When “But we are now part of ish people. GNER agreed to pay a fran- the biggest protests move- “There is a huge rail re- chise of more than £1 billion ment in British political history bate to be had from bringing for the east coast mainline and nobody can doubt that rail back into the public sec- service, RMT warned that the the war against Iraq was ille- tor. only way this money could be gal. “RMT has shown that raised was by raising fares and “We will not allow our public ownership can release cutting services. right to protest against those huge funds to help get who have been ancillary to projects like Crossrail started, “Our analysis shows that these war crimes to be in- put staff back on our deserted fares on this line are already fringed.” stations, keep rural railways three times higher than on Peace protesters in Lon- on track and promote a fairer journeys of similar length in don are also concerned that fares policy.” the nationalised railways in the controversial Serious The march passed Belgium and France. Organised Crime Act, which through Edinburgh, “But fares per mile on the was rushed through Parlia- Newcastle, Durham, York, Virgin West Coast line are ment just before it was dis- Leeds, Manchester, even higher. Rail privatisation solved for the election, will Liverpool, Derby, Nottingham, has turned UK rail fares into a enable the eviction of Brian Birmingham, Milton Keynes lottery and it is set to get Haw from his peace protest in and Northampton on its way worse.” Parliament Square. • On the London May Day march. Despite the efforts of many of Brian’s supporters, including friendly MPs, the bill was passed, meaning that Brian can now be legally evicted at any time. Cornish clay workers link with US unions The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is calling for all who can to give 24-hour soli- AROUND 1,700 workers and General Workers’ Union, elled to Paris to protest about against those who complain. Alabama, said: “Imerys has darity. employed by the French- said: “Industrial action in the the company’s labour rela- In February the company never stopped its efforts to Supporters were present owned clay company Imerys UK over Imerys’ pension cuts tions record. was issued with 48 safety vio- destroy our union. Imerys at sites in Devon and is a real possibility. Share- Imerys recently bought lations at its plant in Alabama, management purposely in- during a previous attempt to Cornwall are uniting with holders will know the impact out the company English giving Imerys the worst acci- cites conflict and continually evict Brian Haw when he was their colleagues in America, action could have. China Clay and cut the pen- dent rate in the US. ignores US laws that protect arrested in the middle of the also employed by Imerys, to “We have been forced to sion benefits. In 1999 Imerys withdrew workers against abuse, un- night last May. Their presence lobby the company, and bal- take this step as Imerys have The TGWU is working its recognition agreement safe practices and racial dis- as witnesses was important in loting for strike action. refused to negotiate with the with other unions Amicus and with PACE that covered work- crimination.” him winning his case. They are angry because unions over the cuts and GMB and also the US unions ers in the Sylacauga plant in Peace protesters are put- the company has closed its shareholders should use USW (formerly PACE) and Alabama and has since re- ICEM general secretary ting together a rota of people final salary pension scheme their influence to stop Imerys the International Federation sisted union representation. Fred Higgs said: “Imerys now who can spend some time in to new entrants and reduced attacks on workers. of Chemical, Energy, Mine has a track record of arrogant Parliament Square. This could pension benefits for existing and General Workers’ Union. overwhelmingly and abusive worksite con- be anything from a couple of members by one third. uncertain (ICEM) – covering 20 million duct, and has provoked hours during the day to a Imerys claims the workers worldwide. Workers there have twice labour disputes in two coun- whole night. changes are necessary to “Our members and their The unions say that as overwhelmingly voted to con- tries. They warn there is a pos- protect the pension fund. But families face an uncertain fu- well as cutting pensions in tinue to support their union. “Together with our Ameri- sibility of arrest under the new the workers are angry at this ture with reduced pension Britain, Imerys has a five-year At Dry Branch in Georgia, can and British affiliates, we legislation for anyone who claim after the company took benefits and so do the local history in the US of anti-union Imerys have transferred pro- urge Imerys shareholders to “may look as though they are a three-year pension holiday communities, as Imerys is activity. Last week USW, duction to a non-union site as recognise that such protesting”. They say that when it made no contribu- the region’s largest private backed by the US the labour agreement with behaviour is not in their best what this means is an example tions to the pension fund, al- employer. government’s Equal Oppor- USW was about to expire. interests. of the unworkability of the Act though the workers were pay- “The cuts are unneces- tunity Commission, raised The international action The USW and TGWU and could apply to curious ing into the fund throughout. sary and unjustified and race discrimination com- also has the support of five have requested their respec- tourists or a passing family They went against the shareholders can play a key plaints against Imerys. French trade unions that sup- tive governments to investi- taking time to read Brian’s pro- advice of their own trustees role in urging the company to They say that white su- port employees of Imerys in gate Imerys under the test placards. in continuing this pensions negotiate with the unions to pervisors are enforcing rules France (CGT-FO, CFE-CGC, Organisation of Economic Those interested in offering holiday beyond 2002. find an agreed solution.” and discipline more harshly CFDT, CGT and CFTC). Co-operation and support should contact Jennie Formby, national On Tuesday workers on black workers and that Keith Fulbright, speaking Development’s guidelines Maria on 07916 151054. secretary for the Transport from Britain and the US trav- management retaliates for the USW in Sylacauga, for multinational enterprises. Page 4 THE NEW WORKER 6 May 2005 Features Arab national liberation and the communist movement

by Andy Brooks Trotskyite groups in Israel and qis to believe, that the country THE ARAB national libera- the Arab world that they argue consists of Sunni Muslims, Shia tion movement is a vital area are the vanguard of the working Muslims and Kurds. They only of study because a major part class in the region. use this rule when it suits them of our solidarity work focuses On the other hand some Brit- because all Arab volunteers in on the war in Iraq and the Pal- ish communists still adhere to the the Iraqi resistance who have estinian problem. Some may revisionist thinking of Krushchov come from other Arab states are argue that the issues are so and Brezhnev that argues that the called “foreign fighters” even if • Azerbaijanis march wilh Stalin in support of the new Soviet constitution. obvious to communists that solution to the problem can be they are Saudi fundamentalists 1938 poster. there is little need for us, found simply by following the line who by this rule should be called the literal descendants of the life and common culture. The thousands of miles away, to go of the particular communist party “foreign Sunni fighters”. That’s Jews of Biblical days. In fact it Arab nationalists, who include the beyond declaring our support in the field. In essence what this why the imperialists prefer the is nothing more than a reaction- Arab Socialist Renaissance Party for the forces for liberation. used to mean was blind support simple pejorative term – terror- ary bourgeois-nationalist ideology (Baath), argue that an Arab is But no effective solidarity for whatever the Soviet Union ist. of the big Jewish capitalists in the anyone who speaks Arabic. Sati with a national liberation move- did. It led to unthinking support Nor do the imperialists and imperialist world. It tells Jewish al Husri, one of the leading Arab ment can be built without some for Krushchov’s line against the their hired academics and Middle workers that their interests are nationalist writers of the 1930s understanding of the problems it Communist Party of China and East “experts” stick to this rule served by Jewish exploiters and and 40s said: “The ‘lands of the seeks to resolve. against Stalin. It led to the eleva- when it comes to their chief it seeks to colonise Palestine in Arabs’ are not restricted to the tion of peace above revolution stooge in the region, the Zionist the same as the imperialist pow- Arabian peninsula alone, as has Some British Trotskyites still and it ultimately led to state of Israel. Zionism maintains ers it allies itself with have done been claimed; every country cling to Leon Trotsky’s teachings Gorbachovism and the final liq- that Jews throughout the world in the past. It was with good rea- where Arabic is the language of and argue: uidation of the old Communist constitute a nation and that anti- son that Lenin maintained that the inhabitants forms part of these Party of Great Britain. semitism is incurable and eternal. “this Zionist idea is absolutely lands…whoever has links with an 1. No socialist revolution That Jews on a world scale, false and essentially reaction- Arab country, and speaks Ara- can succeed unless it takes place This thinking lingers on. It lies lacking a common territory, lan- ary”. bic, whatever the official name in a number of developed impe- behind the elevation of pacifist guage, culture or economic life, The national question was re- of the state of which he is a citi- rialist countries at the same time resistance in opposition to armed do not constitute a nation in any solved in the USSR through the zen, whatever his religion, or doc- let alone in the underdeveloped struggle and ignores Lenin’s dic- generally recognised sense of the study of Stalin, notably his 1913 trine, or descent or family Third World. tum that communists must always term is obvious. Zionism, how- paper that defined a nation as history…is an Arab…Arabism is 2. Should the workers and distinguish between the violence ever, would have Jews and non- possessing four major character- not restricted to the inhabitants peasants succeed in overthrow- of the oppressor and the violence Jews believe that all members of istics; common language; com- of the Arabian peninsula, nor is it ing their oppressors even in a de- of the oppressed. It lies behind the Jewish faith are in some way mon territory; common economic specific to Muslims”. veloped country like Czarist Rus- the attempt to qualify support for sia, as they did in 1917, their state national liberation movements will inevitably become a “de- based on the tactics they use that formed workers’ state” ruled by equates the violence of the op- a party bureaucracy as they pressor with that of it’s victim characterise the Soviet Union of and ultimately endorse the im- Lenin and Stalin. perialist view that armed struggle 3. It is therefore impossible is always “terrorist” unless it is to build “socialism in one state” hopelessly ineffective. and what we must fight for is This thinking lay behind the world revolution – that can only refusal of the old CPGB to sup- succeed if led by the advanced port Sinn Féin and the renewed workers in the European and Irish struggle that began in 1969. American imperialist heartlands. It lies behind to the position amongst some of the revisionists This leads them to dismiss of full support for the current national liberation as simply a Iraqi Communist Party despite its movement led by the national open collaboration with the bourgeoisie that can never lead Anglo-American occupation of to socialism even if it is allied or Iraq. even dependent on mass support from the workers and peasants. The Arab nation “Socialist orientation”, they argued, can never lead to social- Now when we look at the ism – only a parody of the USSR Arab world we first of all have which they dismissed as a “de- to ask ourselves what is an Arab? formed workers” or “state capi- While this seems an easy ques- talist” regime. This is why some tion we have to remember that of them opposed the Palestinian the American imperialists avoid liberation movement and its de- using the word altogether these mands for a Palestinian Arab days. In Iraq the occupation au- state alongside Israel in favour of thorities are trying to divide the an idealist Jewish-Arab Palestin- masses along sectarian lines. ian state based on the unity of Though the population in 80 per Jewish and Arab workers. They cent Arab, the other 20 per cent then take this to its logical con- coming from the Kurdish minor- clusion by trying to substitute sup- ity and some other small ethnic port for the Palestinian national groups, the imperialists would movement with support for tiny have us believe, and want the Ira- • The face of Arab feudalism: King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia with King Farouk of Egypt in 1945. 6 May 2005 THE NEW WORKER Page 5 Features 020 7223 4052

Gamal Abdel Nasser, the “Long live Lenin, his com- leader of Egypt’s Free Officer rades and Soviet power! Revolution, embraced the call for Long live the alliance between Arab unity and argued that any- the whole of Islam and the Bol- one was an Arab who spoke Ara- sheviks!” bic and chose to call himself or The October Revolution also herself an Arab. That proviso is inspired Arab socialists to form introduced to cover the Arabic communist parties. The Palestin- speaking Jewish communities ian Communist Party was formed that until recently lived in Iraq and in 1921. In 1922 the Egyptian Yemen who did not consider Socialist Party joined the Com- themselves to be Arabs and were munist International and renamed not considered to be Arabs and itself communist. Syrian and people like the Maltese who Lebanese communist movements speak a form of Arabic but cer- were established in 1924 during tainly do not consider themselves the struggle against French colo- to be Arabs. nialism and the Iraqi communist Of course when we look at a party was founded ten years map of the Arab League we can later. also see that the member states, The national bourgeois ele- whose frontiers were all defined ment recognised the masses’ de- by British and French imperial- mand for social justice and they ism during colonial days, do not embraced socialist slogans but not include all the Arabs – there is a always for progressive ends. The significant Arab minority in Iran. Arab bourgeois and landlord They also include significant eth- class, fighting for their own free- nic minorities within their borders dom, appealed to the traditional like the tribes of southern Sudan, religious feelings of the peasants the Berbers of Morocco and Al- • Palestinian youths clash with Israeli soldiers outside a house seized by the Israeli army in Ramallah. and other working people in or- geria and the Kurds of northern der to win them to their side in Iraq. democratic ideas of Rousseau the fight against imperialism and We cannot simply accept lan- and the French Revolution. What to disguise class antagonisms guage on its own as a definition they ignore is the impact of the with religious-nationalist ideas. of nationality. English, for in- Russian Revolution in the 1920s The existing patriarchal char- stance is the common language that went far beyond the ranks acter of Arab society, combined of Ireland, Scotland, the United of the Arab working class, then with hatred of their colonial op- States, Australia, New Zealand a very small section of Arab so- pressors, and petty bourgeois and large parts of Canada and the ciety. peasant illusions combined to cre- Philippines but no-one would sug- Only a tiny section within ate fertile soil for utopian social- gest that the people of those coun- Arab society ever benefited ism dressed up in nationalist or tries are all part of the same na- from colonial rule – the feudal Islamic costume. tion. kings and princes whose thrones Lenin’s concrete approach to But historically the vast areas relied on the “protection” of im- the nationalism of the oppressed covered by the Arab League con- perialist guns; the big landown- was expressed when he said: form basically with Stalin’s for- ers and those comprador busi- “The bourgeois nationalism of mula. With the exception of Mo- nessmen who served the needs any oppressed nation has a gen- rocco, Somalia and southern of the colonial armies and the eral democratic content that is Sudan they all were part of one demands of imperial trade. directed against oppression and economic, cultural and territorial The vast majority, and this in- it is this content that we uncon- entity – the Ottoman Empire – cluded the small educated and ditionally support”. until the middle of the 19th cen- vocal national bourgeoisie, At the same time Lenin tury. wanted an end to colonial rule. pointed out that there was a re- Whether the Arabs are a na- Futile attempts to appeal to actionary content present in any tion with “one glorious destiny” imperialism’s better nature at the nationalism, and that in Marxists as the Baath maintain or a “na- Versailles Peace Conference of • Castro meets Nasser. “all chauvinism and nationalism tion in the making” as some of 1919 made them realise that in- throughout the world depends on will find an implacable enemy…” the Arab communists once de- dependence could only be won they want the Arabs to take up Israel, essentially a colonial fined it is another question. an alliance between the Arabs arms against the exploiters. To do by mobilising the Arab workers and the Bolsheviks. To attain settler state, had always been in- and peasants – in mass struggle so the Arabs are asking the Bol- tended as a buffer to contain Arab The fight for freedom their great goal, the Bolsheviks sheviks to supply them with arms against imperialism. The Russian have made many sacrifices and nationalism. Between the world Revolution that swept away the and military equipment… wars British imperialism encour- The borders of all the Arab Czar and his oligarchy showed aged Zionist settlements to play states were defined by British them the way. the Jews off against the Pales- and French imperialism who be- The new Soviet government’s tinian Arabs, though they never gan the carve up of the Turkish Declaration of Rights of the originally intended to grant either Ottoman Empire in the 19th cen- Peoples of Russia and the ap- community any real indepen- tury. The collapse of the Ottoman peal To All the Working Mus- dence. Empire at the end of the First lims of Russia and the East had The old European colonial or- World War completed the pro- been drafted under Lenin’s su- der was fatally shaken by the cess that left only Arabia itself pervision and regarded as Lenin’s Second World War. Though Brit- under the House of Saud and letter to the Arabs. They heard ain and France were ultimately Yemen beyond the direct control the Bolshevik call: “Moslems of victorious this was largely due to of Britain and France and Libya the East! Persians and Turks, the efforts of the Soviet Union which had been an Italian colony Arabs and Hindus – all of those and to a lesser degree, the United since 1912. whose person and property, free- States. American imperialism, Though the original motive dom and motherland have been already entrenched commercially was simple colonial robbery bought and sold for centuries by in Saudi Arabia, wanted to break through land-grabbing, the dis- the greedy European predators, the old Anglo-French hold on the covery of vast oil reserves in the all those whose countries the rest of the Middle East and it did Middle East gave a new impetus plunderers that have started the this by encouraging the establish- to the imperialist desire to con- war now want to divide! ment of the State of Israel and trol and exploit the region. “Overthrow these predators supporting full independence for There had been resistance and the oppressors of your Egypt, Syria and Iraq under the from the old feudal elements in countries!...You have the right to corrupt but weak leadership of the 19th century but Abdel Kader do so, for you hold the future in feudal and big bourgeois Arab in Algeria, Colonel Arabi in Egypt your own hands.” politicians who played the na- and the Mahdi of the Sudan were Arabs struggling against tional card to win mass support. all ultimately defeated by supe- French colonialism in Syria saw The first Arab-Israeli war of rior imperialist fire-power. The the Soviet Union as their friend. 1948 to 1949 exposed the corrup- modern anti-colonial movement, The Patriotic Committee of Arab tion of these newly independent that rapidly embraced all apart Unity in December 1920 de- Arab states who so singularly from the most venal colonial col- clared that: failed militarily to defeat the laborators in Arab society, was “The Arabs regard the gov- fledgling Zionist state. This led to clearly inspired by the 1917 Oc- ernment of Lenin and his friends, a resurgence of Arab nationalism tober Revolution. and the Great Revolution they that focused not just on Israel but Zionists and other apologists have launched to liberate the East also on its own corrupt rulers. for imperialism claim that Arab from the European tyrants as a and “Islamic” society are back- great force capable of ensuring The second and final part ward because the Arab world their well-being and happiness. • Campaign against illiteracy in Azerbaijan. The natural resources of oil will be in next week’s New was not affected by the bourgeois “Peace and happiness and cotton in the background. 1936 poster. Worker. Page 6 THE NEW WORKER 6 May 2005 Home News

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campaigns against BNP jailed FRIDAY 6 May meeting, 7.30pm-9.15pm, Spring social. the Bakehouse, VETERAN Labour leader 1930s when Oswald Mosley The reality is that the Lon- again Brighton NCP. Blackheath. Michael Foot was out and was campaigning there. don Borough of Tower ham- details 01273 410177. FRIDAY 20 May about last weekend in Last Saturday he de- lets has offered a modest cash SATURDAY 7 May MANA concert for Hornchurch, Essex, cam- scribed election leaflets that incentive scheme that helps MAHMOUD Abu Rideh, one of the alleged terror suspects Socialist History peace. Gemini paigning against the lies of the BNP had circulated lo- people – of any ethnic back- Society AGM, 1pm, ensemble. 7.30pm. St the neo-Nazi British Na- cally: “They are a disgrace to ground – who live in council detained for over three years without charge or trial, first followed by David Drake James’s Church, 197 tional Party, who have been fo- this country. We had a similar homes to buy homes. at 2pm on the historical Piccadilly, London W1. cussing their efforts on the problem with Mosley in the in Belmarsh prison and then Broadmoor high security importance of Jean £9.50/£8. Barking and Dagenham con- East End. They came up and This was taken up by 54 Paul Sartre. Marx FRIDAY 20 May stituencies of east London. tried to steam up hatred on households in 2003-04 and of hospital, has been returned to jail after being released last House, Clerkenwell Blocking the base. Foot, aged 92, marked the racial grounds … People have those just five families moved Green, London EC. Protest at Devonport 70th anniversary of his joining to vote Labour to stop this.” into Barking and Dagenham. month for failure to comply with his control order. £1.50/£1. 020 8508 Dockyard gates. Trident the Labour Party in The BNP has been claim- Of those, three were white 6250. Ploughshares carnival. Hornchurch High Street. He ing that labour is running a British, one mixed race and Abu Rideh, a Palestinian and former victim of torture MONDAY 9 May 6.30am onwards. 0845 first campaigned against fas- scheme to give African a grant one unknown. On average Concert & film to 458 8368. cists in east London in the of £50,000 to move into Essex. they received £19,000. while a prisoner in Israel, has a history of mental illness and commemorate VE SATURDAY 21 May depression. He is now under Day. Shostakovich China - speaker Dolly 24-hour watch in the hospital symphony No 7. 8pm, Shear. 2pm. East Anglia wing of Brixton prison in Royal Albert Hall. 020 NCP. All New Worker south London. 7589 8212. £10. readers welcome. 020 Landmark maternity He appeared before Bow WEDNESDAY 11 May 7223 4052. Street magistrates court a Lecture - The SATURDAY 21 May week ago on charges of fail- Bedouin of the Free Palestine. National ing to comply with “any of the Negev. 6.30pm, Khalili demo. 1pm, central pay victory obligations” imposed on him lecture theatre, SOAS. London. org. by PSC. under the Prevention of Ter- Thornhaugh St, Russell www.palestinecampaign.org SECRETARY Michelle Ala- ber 1995, called “the refer- amounted to £204.53 less than rorism Act 2005 “without rea- Sq, London. TUESDAY 24 May baster last week won a land- ence period”, when her salary she was entitled to. sonable excuse”. SUNDAY 15 May Film premiere: A letter mark case after a nine-year was £11,619 a year. She went to her local But his arrest followed a The Palestinian to the Prime Minister: Jo legal battle against the Gov- But in December of that Citizen’s Advice Bureau, then decision that he could have Nakba. Films & Wilding in Iraq. The ernment for £204.53 she year, six weeks before the start to an Employment Tribunal his electronic tag removed conference. 2-6pm, Barbican Cinema, should have been paid as part of her maternity pay, she re- and finally the European while he underwent hospital Brunei Gallery, SOAS, London. Org by Voices in of her maternity pay. ceived in increase in annual Court of Justice. The case cost psychiatric treatment. He was Thornhaugh St, Rusell the Wilderness UK. In May 1995 Alabaster pay to £12,801. her an initial £50 to instruct told it would not be re-at- Sq, London WC1. www.voicesuk.org was employed by the lawyers but ended up costing tached as long as he was still [email protected] TUESDAY 24 May Woolwich Building Society During her maternity the Government £350,000. receiving the treatment. SUNDAY 15 May Human rights and became pregnant. The leave, Alabaster was sur- Alabaster was supported He was charged with International monitoring - public building society calculated prised that her maternity pay throughout by the Equal Op- breaching his control order Conscientious meeting. 7.30pm, Minster her maternity pay on her “nor- was so low because the cal- portunities Commission. Her when he visited a police sta- Objectors’ Day. 12.00- Rooms, Ilminster. 01460 mal weekly earnings between culations were based on her case will help other pregnant tion and told officers he did 2pm, Temple of Peace, 53165. £2 inc. drinks. 1st September and 31st Octo- previous salary. In all it workers to get a better deal. not want to have the tag refit- Cathays Park, Cardiff. ted and would prefer to be re- TUESDAY 17 May FRIDAY 3 June – 5 June turned to custody. Militarisation of Wychwood Music Shami Chakrabati, the di- space. Lewisham & Festival for Oxfam. rector of the civil rights Greenwich CND public www.wychwoodfestival.com organisation Liberty, accused Digital class divide the Government of “chopping and changing” the terms of CHILDREN from well off more help from their parents, that children from poorer Abu Rideh’s regime, adding homes not only have more according to a survey pub- homes are becoming disad- to the “cruelty and confusion access to computers and the lished last week by the Lon- vantaged by a growing “digi- suffered by this man”. internet but they also have don School of Economics. tal divide”. She said: “The Home Of- better skills in using infor- The survey, which stud- The differences are larger fice confirmed that for a pe- mation technology because of ied 1,500 youngsters, found than expected: 88 per cent of riod of time that it had agreed middle-class children but only to take the tag off. The faulty 61 per cent of working-class and cruel nature of control children have access to the orders has been once again internet at home. exposed. The study also found that “We are deeply alarmed the traditional benefits en- at the suggestion that a man On the Web... joyed by middle-class chil- driven to the point of re- dren, such as access to books peated self-harm may now be New Worker National – and help with homework, also prosecuted for going to the www.newworker.org extend to technology. police in a cry for help.” NCP Central – The magistrates have re- disengaged ferred his case to the High www.geocities.com/ncpcentral Court. London District NCP– The study also identified http://londoncommunists.blogspot.com/ a group of youngsters they NCP-PCS – called “disengaged youth” www.geocities.ncppcs/pcs1.html who are least likely to engage with the internet, least likely Sharp to have access at home and were the least expert internet users. rise Professor Sonia Livingstone said: “Now that in house many young people rely on the internet for information, homework help and careers repos guidance, the more it matters Weekly paper of the New Communist Party that some of them are getting THERE has been a 35 per left behind.” cent rise in the number of court actions to repossess SUBSCRIBE NOW! houses over the last year, according to figures released 6 weeks: £4; 3 months: £8; last week by the Department 6 months: £15; annual: £30 for Constitutional Affairs. This figure is the highest since the end of the last prop- Name...... erty price crash in the early Address...... 1990s and indicates that the increase in borrowing costs ...... has had an impact. Post code...... Legal proceeding to be- gin repossessions rose last Phone...... year to 25,869 – a rise of 35 Send cheque/P.O.’s to: per cent on the year before. They led to 14,048 actual re- NW Subs, PO Box 73, London SW11 2PQ possession orders so far and 6,230 repossessions. 6 May 2005 THE NEW WORKER Page 7 020 7223 4052 Bush ally ousted in Ecuador

by Berta Joubert-Ceci digenous group, the Confed- ment that the executioner eration of Indigenous Nation- [Gutiérrez] wants to sign.” alities (CONAIE), which had Gutiérrez was removed FOLLOWING over a week of been his strongest support- from office by the Ecuadorian mass demonstrations, the Ec- ers, broke just a few months Congress on 20th April. He uadorian Congress on 20th later. had received US ambassador April dismissed President Gutiérrez turned his back Kristie Kenney’s backing un- Lucio Gutiérrez , who had on the masses, winning their til it became clear that the once called himself “the clos- contempt when he aligned demonstrations, instead of est ally of Bush in Latin himself with the imperialists. diminishing, were turning America”. Loyal to his statement that he more militant as they con- Gutiérrez had won the was a Bush ally, he spent the fronted state violence. Then 2002 presidential elections in next 27 months signing a se- Kenney met with Gutiérrez Ecuador, defeating billionaire ries of pacts on behalf of US- and the armed forces. Soon President Alvaro Noboa with based transnational corpora- afterwards the military pub- the strong backing of the dis- tions, turning into a dedicated licly announced that they possessed peasants and partner of the International were withdrawing their sup- workers, particularly the in- Monetary Fund (IMF) and port for the president. digenous Amerindian popula- the World Bank. Gutiérrez then fled to Brazil, tion. The people were tired of He even put into practice where he had requested asy- a succession of corrupt ad- the “Plan Topo” (Mole), an lum. ministrations that ignored the attempt to help oil and elec- The OAS, a body at the people’s needs. When he tricity transnationals steal service of Washington, has took office in January 2003, those resources from the Ec- questioned the “legitimacy” Gutiérrez promised to fight uadorian people. Ecuador is of Gutiérrez’s removal and will against corruption and on the second-largest oil pro- be sending a team to Ecuador behalf of the poor, who repre- ducer in Latin America, after to “investigate” the action sent more than 60 per cent of Venezuela. • The people of Ecuador protest. and determine if it conforms Ecuador’s 12.5 million people. The straw that broke the with the constitution. Ironi- An army colonel, camel’s back was his packing from the earliest of eight days of mobilisations. The demon- mocracy to the Indigenous cally, the same entity never Gutiérrez had won the sympa- the Supreme Court with his of demonstrations, people strators, among them children organisations. Luis Macas, questioned the illegal kidnap- thy of the masses on 21st Janu- own allies. These judges then surrounded the presidential and seniors, were met by vio- president of CONAIE, stated: ping of Venezuelan President ary 2000, when he, together pardoned hated ex-President palace. Ignoring the presence lence from the repressive “We are fighting and will con- Hugo Chávez during the brief with Indigenous groups and Abdala Bucaram, who had of the poorest Ecuadorians, forces of the police and army, tinue indefinitely until they all April 2002 coup attempt. a sector of the military, had been forced out of office for Gutiérrez baited the demon- who used teargas steadily for [the corrupt government] Alfredo Palacio, attempted a coup against corruption and appropriating strators as “outlaws in hours. By the end, two people leave. We need to construct Gutiérrez’s vice president, has right-wing President Jamil state money and who was in Mercedes Benz.” People then had been killed and hundreds new institutions among us all, been sworn in as president of Mahuad. exile in Panama. The masses, started calling themselves injured. Mestizos, Blacks and Indig- Ecuador. His next steps will be His pledge of “total dedi- both from the poorest sectors “outlaws” (forajidos) and co- Along with what was seen enous. The fundamental axis watched worldwide, but more cation to the service of the to the middle class, joined in ordinated actions through as a spontaneous uprising to reconstruct this country is closely by Ecuadorans, who most dispossessed” van- continuous mobilisations in Radio Luna, an alternative and against corruption, there was to recover dignity and sover- are unlikely to be satisfied ished, however, soon after he Quito, Ecuador’s capital, and progressive radio station. also the participation of eignty, because at this mo- with just a change of names. took office. His alliance with in many other regions of the People would call the sta- organisations and social ment this is being violated by They are ready to continue the leftist organisations and the country. tion through cell phones to movements from a wide range the existence of Plan Colom- mobilisations. largest and most powerful In- Demanding, “Lucio out,” announce the place and time of ideologies, from social de- bia and the Free Trade Agree- Workers’ World (US) Rick Wakeman in Cuba King Arthur at the court of son Dave Colquhoun on guitar, cians’ faces, particularly by Jorge Smith Lee Pomeroy on bass and that of the extraordinary in Havana Ash Soan on drums. keyboardist who came to They say that Rick Cuba at the invitation of RICK Wakeman ap- Wakeman is to rock what friends of Cuba in Switzer- peared onstage in the Handel is to classical mu- land and the Cuban Mu- Karl Marx Theatre be- sic: a national composer sic Institute to close a gap neath an artificial En- who has created an original in the country’s efforts to glish mist with his King body of work influenced by achieve a general integral Arthur-style hair and Bach, Mozart, Robert culture, no less than that wearing the cloak of Johnson, and other “mas- of British symphonic Merlin the magician. A ters” of the Blues. rock. whole section of Ha- From his first solo al- Wakeman’s perfor- vana roared with pure bum, The Six Wives of mance was preceded by joy. And so began the Henry the Eighth (1973), he the words of Leo Brouwer, visit by the king of Brit- selected three beautiful the most important living ish symphonic rockers pieces in which he achieves composer-guitarist in the to the court of Cuban a subtle atmosphere, world – who praised the Afro-Cuban son rhythm. namely Catherine Howard innovative achievements In Havana’s massive (the king’s fifth wife), of the British musician venue, to use a Mick Catherine of Aragon (from and the relevance of his Fleetwood phrase, “every- whom he divorced and visit to Cuba. body was there”, from broke with Catholicism in First on stage was the David Blanco to rising order to marry Ann Boleyn), world-class and Grammy- star Charly Salgado of the and Catherine Parr (who was nominated Cuban group latest generation. with him until his death). • Wakeman, surrounded by his keyboards. Sintesis, who delighted The composer of Pi- Drum preludes, cli- the crowd with two pieces ano Vibration was smiling maxes on the Hammond C3 spoke to the crowd with his The forests, the en- gave us Starship Trooper, expressing the desire to and “forgot” his English or Yamaha c3 – his insepa- fascinating “entries” and chanted city of Camelot that old Yes classic that we search for a sound relat- composure as he em- rable “melodic companions” solos. and the surprises that we always enjoyed thanks to ing to that of the English barked on the first of three – and sublime guitar solos As Wakeman was enjoy from English history Anderson, Howe, Squire, musician. concerts in the homeland by David Colquhoun sent aware of King Arthur’s popu- were brought to life by White and Wakeman, the Swiss rock band of Benny Moré and Miguel shivers through the Karl larity in Cuba, he performed Wakeman in the Karl Marx most legendary and classic Cross Fire acting as sup- Matamoros. Marx. excerpts such as his Mer- theatre. Yes formation. The duels port group played covers Journey to the Centre Colquhoun, a musician lin the Magician, taking us The keyboard player between Howe’s guitar and of old hits such as Bob of the Earth, his notewor- who is closer to the sensi- back in time to the epic demonstrated that a lyric Wakeman’s mini-moog Dylan’s Like A Rolling thy album from a decisive tivity of David Gilmour than saga of Excalibur, Sir can spring forth from a were replayed by an ex- Stone and Can’t Get year (1974) during his pil- Steve Howe, had to make Galahad, Guinevere, Sir melody and lyrics and mu- tremely lyrical Dave Enough of Your Love by grimage to find a celes- himself familiar with the Lancelot, Morgan Le Fay, sic together can form a Colquhoun on a night of fi- Paul Rodgers and Bad tial stave, saw the start of pieces and carry them to a Uther Pendragon, and the beautiful mysticism, com- esta. Company. a magnificent line-up: frenzied pitch. Ashley Holt, illegitimate and cruel forting and everlasting. Overwhelming ap- Ashley Holt on vocals, a tenor from the Yes mould, Mordred. The finale and encore plause. Emotion on musi- Prensa Latina Page 8 6 May 2005

International News Web: www.newworker.org Fax 020 7223 4057 DPRK England expects Vietnamese celebrate pleads no nuke historic victory! guilty in solution Iraq “Ho Chi Minh City should ac- celerate its reforms and lead in Bush the country’s socio-economic abuse development,” said President term Tran Duc Luong at a mass case gathering and parade in the city to mark the 30th anni- THE democratic versary of the liberation of US ARMY Reservist People’s Republic of southern Viet Nam and na- Lynndie England Korea (DPRK) says tional reunification. pleaded guilty at her that it does not expect court martial on Monday any solution to the The Vietnamese president for abusing Iraqi detain- nuclear issue or any said HCM City should con- ees at the Abu Ghraib progress in the DPRK- tinue to take the lead in imple- prison in Iraq. US relations during the menting strategies and poli- tenure of incumbent US cies on industrialisation and Private Lynndie En- president George W modernisation. It should turn gland, perhaps the most Bush. itself into a modernised social- well-known in the abuse “Because, Bush is, in- ist city and serve as an en- scandal that occurred in deed, a world dictator gine of progress for both the the autumn of 2003, whose hands are stained southern region and the coun- pleaded guilty to seven with the blood shed by in- try as a whole. charges, including two nocent civilians, peace can HCM City residents must counts of conspiracy to never settle in the world as do their best to turn the city into a regional hub for indus- maltreat prisoners, four long as Bush stays in trial, commercial, and scien- counts of maltreating pris- power” a Democratic Ko- tific and technological devel- oners and one count of rean Foreign Office official opment in Southeast Asia, he committing an indecent act. told the press in Pyongyang said. • A mock-up of the type of tank used in the war was one of the floats in the parade. England, 22, reached a last Saturday. “The anniversary sets plea bargain with military new targets for HCM City. economic pacesetter, he said. nomic progress, becoming a awarded the city the title prosecutors last week, magnanimity The city must speed up its Doi The city has actively hub for charitable resources Labour Hero. which would lower her moi (renewal) process while sought to escape from the old and programmes. The Secretary of the HCM maximum possible sen- He said that over more overcoming its weaknesses command economic mecha- The President cited, Af- City Party Committee, Nguyen tence from 16-and-a-half than four years since which have hindered develop- nism and has developed, in- fection Houses, the Hunger Minh Triet said HCM City is years in prison to 11 years. Bush’s inauguration, the ment,” Luong said. stead, new management mod- Eradication and Poverty Alle- determined to continue its re- The prosecution dropped a DPRK has shown “utmost The President said that in els, he said. viation Programme, the Spon- newal process, exploit the dereliction of duty charge magnanimity and pa- the 30 years since liberation, sorship for Poor Patients people’s revolutionary spirit and one of committing an tience”. He stressed that it HCM City has developed into dynamism Programme, the Support for and take necessary steps to indecent act. can no longer do so, “wait- a bigger and more beautiful Heroic Mothers movement, sustain economic develop- Luong said HCM City’s and Smiles for Children, all of ment. ing for any shift in the US city. agreement Luong attributed the dynamism will continue to at- which were successfully Triet said the city was de- policy”. launched first in HCM City termined to integrate with the The DPRK’s anger changes to contributions tract foreign direct investment made by people from all walks and human resources, turn- before spreading throughout regional and global communi- If the plea agreement is came after Bush made ac- of life. ing it into a “driving force” for the country. ties, maintain social and po- accepted by the military cusation against the From a city that once re- economic development. In honour of the city’s litical stability, and become a judge at the court martial DPRK’s top leader Kim lied on foreign aid, HCM City He said HCM City has achievements over the past modern socialist city. at Fort Hood, Texas, a jury Jong Il at a press confer- has become the country’s made social as well as eco- three decades, the President VNA of officers and soldiers will ence last week, when Bush decide her punishment fol- branded Kim a “tyrant and lowing a sentencing hear- a dangerous man.” ing. When asked about England, from West Vir- whether the DPRK could ginia, was one of seven mount a nuclear device on Millions mark May Day in Havana members of the Maryland- a missile, Bush said it was based 372nd Military Po- best to expect the worst lice Company charged with from the DPRK leader. MORE THAN a million standard with regards to the dom for the Cuban Five, workers, farmers, combat- humiliating and assaulting “There is concern about and a half Cubans, led by fight against international held as political prisoners ants, students, and others, prisoners at Abu Ghraib. his capability to deliver a President Fidel Castro terrorism. by the United States for the I want to reaffirm the island’s The Abu Ghraib abuse nuclear weapon. We don’t overflowed Revolution The media already has “crime” of infiltrating Miami determination “to defend the scandal went public in know if he can or not but I Square in Havana on enough evidence and facts based terrorist groups that nation, the revolution and April 2004, after photo- think it’s best, when you’re Sunday accompanied by to assure justice be served for decades have carried out socialism with our teeth and graphs showing American dealing with a tyrant like political personalities, in- in the case of this murderer, attacks against our country. nails if necessary.” soldiers mistreating and Kim Jong Il, to assume he tellectuals and union and who was trained by the CIA, On behalf of Cuban Periodico 26 humiliating Iraqi prisoners can,” Bush told the media. student representatives protected by the US govern- surfaced. The scandal from 58 nations of all con- ment and financed by ultra caused a widespread out- hooligan tinents. right Cuban-American rage, particularly in the Simultaneously with the groups based in Miami, Arab world, prompting In return, the DPRK massive gathering in Ha- said the head of the Cuban President George W Bush spokesman called Bush “a vana, parades and rallies Labour Federation. to apologise. hooligan bereft of any per- began in all towns and prov- “We demand that the sonality as a human being, inces across the island, to European Union clearly soften up to say nothing of stature as the tune of the old Cuban state its position on the president of a country.” Liberation Army anthem. case,” he added. England and the other “He is a half-baked man Pedro Ross Leal also soldiers accused have in- in terms of morality and a The first speaker of the sisted that they were fol- philistine whom we can day in the capital was Pedro upheld Venezuela’s right to lowing orders from military never deal with,” he added. Ross Leal, secretary-gen- request the extradition of intelligence officers at the Tension between the eral of the Cuban Workers’ Posada Carriles, who es- prison to “soften up” the US and the DPRK rose Federation. The trade union caped from a Caracas prisoners for interrogation. earlier this week after a leader read a declaration in prison while awaiting trial Of the seven members senior official of the US the name of the Cuban for the bombing of a Cubana of the 372nd Military Po- Defence Intelligence labour, community and stu- airliner that killed all 73 pas- lice Company charged in Agency said the DPRK dent organisations. sengers back in 1976. the abuse scandal, four may have mastered the After denouncing that “We demand justice for have previously entered technology for mounting a one of the most notorious the thousands of Cubans guilty pleas, and the only nuclear warhead on a mis- terrorists in history, Luis who lost their lives and soldier to stand trial so far sile capable of hitting the Posada Carriles, has taken those left maimed from the is Charles Graner, who West coast of the United refuge in the US, Ross Leal horrendous terrorist acts was jailed for ten years. States. said the entire world is a committed against our witness to the Bush country,” said Ross Leal.

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