SolFor isociadl ownershaip of the rbanks iand itndustryy No 388 6 January 2016 50p/£1 Inside: Syria: sectarian split grows Syria is separating out along sectar - ian lines. UN-negotiated evacuations have taken 126 Sunni rebel fighters and civilians from Zabadani, north west of Damascus, which was the last major rebel enclave along the SAVE Lebanon border. See page 3 Gallipoli: savage, bloody, pointless Janine Booth describes what hap - pened at the battle of Gallipoli in THE World War 1. See pages 6-7 What’s wrong with Star This month student nurses and junior doctors are taking up Wars? the fight to save the National Health Service. NAt the end of the monthH, on 30 January, a “Health CSampaigns Together” conference, backed by the Unite and Unison trade unions, meets in London. The campaign for the NHS Reinstatement Bill drafted by Eric Lee reviews the latest Star Wars Allyson Pollock has been boosted by the Corbyn surge in the film. Labour Party, with a regular page on the campaign’s website now reporting on support from local Labour Parties. See page 9 More page 5 Join Labour! Solidarity interviews Clive Lewis MP about Support junior doctors and Corbyn, Momentum, reselection and student nurses — see page 12 socialism. See page 10 2 NEWS More online at www.workersliberty.org Greek “communists” oppose civil partnership law not some kind of “exotic fruit”, iso - QNEWS lated from society and the working class; on the contrary they are a By Theodora Polenta vital and organic component of the working class movement. The homophobic and reactionary “Is sex dirty? Only when it’s be - positions of KKE have nothing to ingO nd oTnuee srdigahyt ”2 2— DWeoceomdyb eAr,l lethne . do with Marxism. The left and all Greek Parliament ratified the Civil progressive forces of the civil rights Union Agreement for Same-Sex movements should uncompromis - Couples. The new legal framework ingly demand: equal rights and for co-habiting couples is also a equal treatment of same-sex and limited step towards the abolition heterosexual couples, at all levels of discrimination for the LGBTQI and all spheres of public life and Defying the Orthodox church community in Greece. legislation; ending every discrimi - The legislation makes the termi - nation based on sexual orientation, madhouse.” Centrists’ Union. Only 19 out of 75 model of man and woman in the colour, religion, gender. nation of civil partnership more dif - Not to be outdone, the Metro - New Democracy MPs voted in family environment; they try to ficult and gives rights to “civil polit of Korinthia among his wishes favour. Golden Dawn opposed. But support this “argument” by basing Ultimately the complete free - partners” over inheritance, social to church goers for a happy New very significantly, the Greek Com - it upon the “biology” of the sexes. dom of the individual, including security (pensions), and taxation is - Year, (while Greece is in economic munist Party (KKE) voted against Children who grow up in single- LGBTI people, can not be sues. The government has yet to crisis and refugees continue to the legislation. parent families, are “doomed” not achieved outside of the libera - move to legislate for political mar - drown into the Aegean Sea) talked The KKE have tried to justify to grow “naturally”? tion of the whole of society from riage between persons of the same about the “axis of evil” of the their obstructionist socially regres - So this party of the “working the shackles of economic, social sex or for their right to adopt chil - Tsipras government and the sive political stance with Marxism- class” can fight for workers’ rights and cultural oppression. dren; both issues have been post - sodomism and corruption the law out-of-context quotations, but they only if it means the rights of hetero - poned for the future. Another • Longer version of this article at will be bring; “cursing” the Prime reflect Greek social traditions: op - sexual workers? LGBTI people are bit.ly/1TC9741 weakness is the lack of provision Minister’s own young children, position to deviation from the for transgender people, such as the hoping they “turn out gay” and norm, adherence to divine scrip - facilitation of the change of per - that the Prime Minister will be at - ture — reactionary and regressive sonal documents without medical tending their civil union partner - philosophies against enlighten - Resistance in a year of fear pre-conditions. ship ceremonies. ment. of Trump’s poisonous ideas. The cohabitation agreement puts The Secretary General of KKE, By the (US) International Instead, the reason to step back the Greek state in line with EU leg - Koutsoubas, stressed that the deci - Socialist Organization and gain a wider view of the po - islation and it was well overdue; PROTEST Protestors demonstrated out - sion for two men to live together is litical landscape so that we can the postponement of these changes The horrors of the past months side the Metropolitan Cathedral private, so “it should not concern more accurately assess where we has led to Greece being condemned shouldn’t stop us from remem - of Athens in response to church the public sphere”. He also said are on the defensive, but also by the European Court of Human bering that 2015 was a year of reactions. Two young men that KKE condemns homophobic where we can push back. Rights. polarization in US society — dressed in priest robes kissed in attacks. The understandable alarm over The progressive step was made with the increasing confidence front of the Cathedral. The KKE’s stance should not sur - the Trump minority can distract despite church hostility. of right-wing forces taking These statements should not sur - prise us. They follow Stalinist Rus - from the main dynamic in the The Metropolit of Kalavrita and place at the same time as a prise us. The Church’s role is to sia’s persecution of homosexuals. presidential race: while the Re - Aegialia Ambrosios, at a concert of less-remarked-upon growth in maintain conservatism in society, to All the trash of class and patriar - publican Party is in crisis because “humanity”, said among other those looking for an alternative instil the notion that we are “ser - chal society that with Bolshevism of its inability to find a candidate things that “homosexuality is a so - on the left. vants of God” and therefore our flew out of the door, Stalinism rein - to beat Trump, Hillary Clinton is cial crime and sin. Homosexuals At a time when the airwaves are bodies do not belong to us, our troduced: the glorification of the consolidating her commanding are scum of society ... MPs support - filled with ridiculous police theo - choices for our lives are not defined nuclear family, under the rationale lead in the race for the Democratic ing the [law] deserve spitting at, as ries about the “radicalization” of by us, but by some gentlemen in that family institutions were being presidential nomination. they are not people but freaks of Muslims, we need to locate and black clothes and beards. attacked by capitalism. Clinton looks certain to be her nature, suffering mentally and spir - encourage the genuine and The bill was supported by Syriza, The KKE reproduces the classic- party’s nominee not because her itually; as they are much more dan - healthy process of left-wing radi - with votes from its coalition part - conservative argument that the message is more appealing to vot - gerous than some who live in the calisation wherever it’s taking ners ANEL, Pasok, Potami and the child needs a gender binary role ers, but on the contrary, because place. In the days before the ISIS at - the Democratic Party is not a dem - tacks in Paris, US headlines were ocratic party. dominated by the wave of anti- Rather it’s an organisation Hutchison workers deflect sackings racist protests sweeping across whose major decisions and nomi - college campuses in the wake of nations are determined by big money donations, corporate Hutchison has been there for as Hutchison bosses were evidently historic demonstrations at the By Martin Thomas University of Missouri that media connections and a rigged much as three years, without the willing to keep the terminals barely internal structure. deal redundancy payments would “ticking over” for a long time, de - pushed out the school’s president. After 102 days of bitter struggle, There’s the most obvious and If and when Clinton becomes have been minimal. spite the big losses that must have Hutchison port workers in Bris - widespread expression of people the nominee, there will be enor - bane and Sydney, members of The union has put up very strong brought them on their hundreds of mous pressure on Sanders sup - fences around the use of casuals shifting leftward: the Democratic the Maritime Union of Australia, millions of dollars of fixed-capital porters and activists, even if they and how they must be sourced, and presidential campaign of Bernie voted on 16 November to rescind investment in the cranes and other would prefer to stay independent made sure the new EBA cannot be Sanders, who is polling at over 30 their previous Enterprise Bar - equipment at the terminals. of Clinton and the Democrats, to used by Hutchison to undercut its percent as an open (if quite mod - gaining Agreement and to vote in Throughput in Brisbane is cur - join in the Clinton campaign, competitors and help “level down” erate) socialist in party polls. another EBA for the next three rently running at a tiny 20,000 teu based on the familiar logic of the conditions on the wharves. Amid the media’s Trump ca - years. per year. Hutchison have stalled on cophony, it can be easy to forget — lesser evil.