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Friday, March 27, 2009
London solidarity with Palestine
by Andy Brooks
WE HAVE NOT forgotten the refugees and we will never renounce their right to return. That was the clear message from Manual Hassassian, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, speaking at a packed meeting in a committee room of the House of Commons last week.
Prof Hassassian called on the European Union to use its influence on Israel to end the impasse in the Middle East. “Israel is not invincible,” he said. “It is a small country dependent on the United States. Israel must understand that there is no way out of negotiations”.
The Palestinian envoy was speaking at a meeting organised by Third World Solidarity (TWS) to report on the current situation in the Gaza Strip after the devastating Israeli onslaught in January and to build solidarity with the Palestinians under the thumb of a ruthless and brutal Israeli occupation.
That call was introduced by Mohammad Sarwar, the Labour member of parliament for Glasgow Central, Britain’s first Muslim MP. Sarwar said the EU should send a very strong message to Israel that if they don’t respond to the latest peace efforts there will be some sort of sanctions from Europe.
This was echoed by Martin Linton MP and Andrew Slaughter MP, both from Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East (LFPME), a forum launched last November to provide a voice for the people of Palestine within the labour movement and to the wider public.
The Labour Party group is committed to a two-state solution with viable and secure Palestinian and Israeli states, but believe this can only be achieved once Israel complies with her international obligations. A LFPME delegation recently visited Gaza with the Britain-Palestine all-Party Parliamentary Group.
Israel must get out of Gaza and Hamas, the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, cannot be ignored was another shared view. They had, after all, won the Palestinian elections and this was stressed by the Palestinian diplomat who said: “I speak in the name of all the Palestinians. Hamas won fair and square, the result of the democratic process…but we were ostracised and condemned. Then we set up a national unity government but the ostracism and boycott continued,” Prof Hassassian said.
“Perhaps we should go back to militarisation and dictatorship,” he rhetorically declared. “Israel has to understand it cannot have the cake and eat it too. We will not tolerate another 50 years of occupation”.
Winding up, the chair of Third World Solidarity Labour London councillor Mushtaq Lasharie, called on everyone to redouble their efforts to build links with the Palestinian people and help in the work of TWS for peace and tolerance, helping to resolve conflicts through negotiations and diplomatic means.
WE HAVE NOT forgotten the refugees and we will never renounce their right to return. That was the clear message from Manual Hassassian, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, speaking at a packed meeting in a committee room of the House of Commons last week.
Prof Hassassian called on the European Union to use its influence on Israel to end the impasse in the Middle East. “Israel is not invincible,” he said. “It is a small country dependent on the United States. Israel must understand that there is no way out of negotiations”.
The Palestinian envoy was speaking at a meeting organised by Third World Solidarity (TWS) to report on the current situation in the Gaza Strip after the devastating Israeli onslaught in January and to build solidarity with the Palestinians under the thumb of a ruthless and brutal Israeli occupation.
That call was introduced by Mohammad Sarwar, the Labour member of parliament for Glasgow Central, Britain’s first Muslim MP. Sarwar said the EU should send a very strong message to Israel that if they don’t respond to the latest peace efforts there will be some sort of sanctions from Europe.
This was echoed by Martin Linton MP and Andrew Slaughter MP, both from Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East (LFPME), a forum launched last November to provide a voice for the people of Palestine within the labour movement and to the wider public.
The Labour Party group is committed to a two-state solution with viable and secure Palestinian and Israeli states, but believe this can only be achieved once Israel complies with her international obligations. A LFPME delegation recently visited Gaza with the Britain-Palestine all-Party Parliamentary Group.
Israel must get out of Gaza and Hamas, the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, cannot be ignored was another shared view. They had, after all, won the Palestinian elections and this was stressed by the Palestinian diplomat who said: “I speak in the name of all the Palestinians. Hamas won fair and square, the result of the democratic process…but we were ostracised and condemned. Then we set up a national unity government but the ostracism and boycott continued,” Prof Hassassian said.
“Perhaps we should go back to militarisation and dictatorship,” he rhetorically declared. “Israel has to understand it cannot have the cake and eat it too. We will not tolerate another 50 years of occupation”.
Winding up, the chair of Third World Solidarity Labour London councillor Mushtaq Lasharie, called on everyone to redouble their efforts to build links with the Palestinian people and help in the work of TWS for peace and tolerance, helping to resolve conflicts through negotiations and diplomatic means.
London news round-up
Met squad record of abuse
A GROUP of police officers from the territorial support group at the centre of a “serious gratuitous and prolonged” attack on a British Muslim man, resulting in a court award of £60,000 in damages, were last week revealed to have been accused of dozens of other assaults against black and Asian men. Babar Ahmad was arrested in December 2003 as a terrorist suspect; he was punched, kicked, stamped on and strangled during his arrest by officers in the Metropolitan Police’s territorial support group (TSG).
Ahmad lodged a complaint and after six years of legal proceedings lawyers acting on behalf of Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson were forced to admit the abuse charges were true.
But according to papers submitted to the court, four of the officers involved had a record of 60 complaints and allegations of abuse levelled at them. At least 37 of these complaints came from black or Asian men.
The Met has admitted that since 1992 all six officers involved in the Ahmad assault have been the subjects of at least 77 complaints.
When Ahmad’s lawyers asked for details of these allegations the Met said it had “lost” several large mail sacks detailing at least 30 of the complaints.
Scotland Yard has admitted there were concerns about the conduct of these officers. The Independent Police Complaints Authority supervised an investigation carried out by the Met into the assault on Ahmad but none of the officers involved has been disciplined and all but one are still working for the TSG.
The Met claimed that its inquiries had found the complaints against the officers were, with one exception, found to be “unsubstantiated”.
Ahmad’s lawyer, Fiona Murphy, said the number of complaints should have led to a thorough inquiry.
“The horrifying nature and volume of complaints against these officers should have provoked an effective response from the Metropolitan Police and the IPCC long ago,” she said.
In one allegation in March 2007, one of the officers was accused of bundling a man into the back of a van and ordered him to kneel. The main replied: “This is not Guantánamo”. The officer seized him round the neck and discharged his CS gas while continuing to hold his throat. The man was then thrown from the van. The man suffered head, neck and eye injuries. The Met claimed no action was taken because the complaint was “incapable of proof” and so there was “no case to answer”.
Scotland Yard said that all but one of the 77 allegations against the six TSG officers was found to be unsubstantiated because the complainant failed to assist them any further, the complaint was withdrawn or informally resolved, or investigated and found to be unsubstantiated.
And they said the Met Directorate of Professional Standards was investigating the missing mail sacks containing 30 complaint dockets.
RMT strike ballot on jobs and pay
THE TUBE’S biggest union is to ballot nearly 10,000 members across London Underground and Transport for London (TfL) for strike action in two separate disputes centred on jobs and pay. As news emerged that the number of jobs under threat across the Tube and TfL could reach 3,000, RMT said it would ballot all its members at LUL, including former Metronet staff, as well as in the separate dispute at TfL. Balloting started this week and will close on Wednesday 18th April.
On London Underground, bosses are threatening to tear up an agreement aimed at safeguarding jobs, and has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies.
LUL has also refused to budge from an unacceptable five-year pay offer that gives no real-terms increase for four years, and which could even see pay cut, and there have been so many complaints of breaches of disciplinary and attendance procedures they appear co-ordinated.
TfL is also threatening compulsory redundancies as part of a £2.4 billion cuts package, and has so far failed to table any pay offer at all.
“London Underground seems to think that observing agreements is optional, and its plan to cut jobs is simply unacceptable,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said.
“After three months of stonewalling LUL has also tabled what is at best a five-year pay freeze which it knows full well could never be accepted, and its managers appear to have been given the nod to unleash a fresh round of bullying.
“LUL’s own ‘Valuing Time’ study acknowledges that our members’ productivity is at an all-time high, with passenger numbers up to record-breaking levels of four million a day.
“We said from the start that our members, whether in LUL or TfL, would not be made to pay for the failure and greed of bankers and privateers, and that any attempt to impose compulsory redundancies would be met with a ballot for industrial action.
“If LUL and TfL want to avoid confrontation they should withdraw their plans to slash jobs and guarantee there will be no forced redundancies, start talking seriously about pay and call off the bully managers,” Bob Crow said.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Cypriot heroes who fought for Spain
by Theo Russell
ALMOST 70 years since the end of the Spanish Civil War, around 60 people gathered last Sunday in London for the launch of an important new book on the conflict, Spanish Thermopylae – Cypriot Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39 by Paul Philippou Strogos, a second generation British Cypriot whose father, a lifelong AKEL ( Progressive Party of the Working People of Cyprus) militant, fought in Spain.
Photos Kouzoupis, who chaired the meeting, recalled that at that time “Cyprus was a colony of the British Empire, under the military law and dictatorship of Sir Herbert Richmond Palmer the colonial governor”.
The Cypriot people faced acute social and economic hardship and the Communist Party of Cyprus, founded in 1926, had been banned by the British authorities following the “October uprising” in 1931.
Against this background, with a population of only 350,000, the Cypriot contingent in the International Brigades ranks among the highest percentage of volunteers for Spain of any country.
Introducing the book, Paul said that “although the Republic was eventually defeated… the contribution made by the Cypriot volunteers amongst all the estimated 35-40,000 volunteers from 63 countries who served in Spain, has never been forgotten by the people of Spain.”
Those volunteers traveled from Cyprus, Britain, the United States and many other countries. In Britain most were active members of the Communist Party of Great Britain and the League against Imperialism, as well as organising within their own community. “It was a natural progression for them to join the more that two thousand men and women who heard the cry for help that came from Spain,” Paul said.
“Today,” Photos said, “we ask ourselves, why did these young men and women of Cyprus participate in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War?” In answer he quoted Ezekias Papaioannou, a volunteer in Spain and General Secretary of AKEL from 1948 to 1989:
“True to the best traditions of their Greek forefathers, the heroes of the Greek War of Independence (1821), the Cypriots rallied to the support of Spanish democracy and independence, realising that a defeat for the Spanish people would have meant world war. On the Spanish battlefields was being decided the fate of Europe, and with it that of Cyprus. They recognised fascism as the greatest enemy of humanity and volunteered to help crush it”.
Photos also recalled the words of volunteer Michalakis Economides: “Every generation has its challenges. The cry of the thirties ‘Peace is indivisible’ is as true today as it was then. Indivisible also is the rule of law, democracy and above all the territorial integrity of nations. Partition is the filthiest crime of the age. Countries are cut in two to serve the requirements of imperialism”.
Some of the Cypriot volunteers lived to receive honorary Spanish citizenship in 1996, the 60th anniversary of the civil war, but the Republic of Cyprus has yet to recognise this heroic episode in Cypriot history.
“Today with this modest ceremony for the book launching our presence is a minimum respect and tribute to the heroic Cypriot volunteers of the International Brigades of the Democratic Army,” Photos said. Those present remembered those comrades by standing for a minute’s silence.
ALMOST 70 years since the end of the Spanish Civil War, around 60 people gathered last Sunday in London for the launch of an important new book on the conflict, Spanish Thermopylae – Cypriot Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39 by Paul Philippou Strogos, a second generation British Cypriot whose father, a lifelong AKEL ( Progressive Party of the Working People of Cyprus) militant, fought in Spain.
Photos Kouzoupis, who chaired the meeting, recalled that at that time “Cyprus was a colony of the British Empire, under the military law and dictatorship of Sir Herbert Richmond Palmer the colonial governor”.
The Cypriot people faced acute social and economic hardship and the Communist Party of Cyprus, founded in 1926, had been banned by the British authorities following the “October uprising” in 1931.
Against this background, with a population of only 350,000, the Cypriot contingent in the International Brigades ranks among the highest percentage of volunteers for Spain of any country.
Introducing the book, Paul said that “although the Republic was eventually defeated… the contribution made by the Cypriot volunteers amongst all the estimated 35-40,000 volunteers from 63 countries who served in Spain, has never been forgotten by the people of Spain.”
Those volunteers traveled from Cyprus, Britain, the United States and many other countries. In Britain most were active members of the Communist Party of Great Britain and the League against Imperialism, as well as organising within their own community. “It was a natural progression for them to join the more that two thousand men and women who heard the cry for help that came from Spain,” Paul said.
“Today,” Photos said, “we ask ourselves, why did these young men and women of Cyprus participate in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War?” In answer he quoted Ezekias Papaioannou, a volunteer in Spain and General Secretary of AKEL from 1948 to 1989:
“True to the best traditions of their Greek forefathers, the heroes of the Greek War of Independence (1821), the Cypriots rallied to the support of Spanish democracy and independence, realising that a defeat for the Spanish people would have meant world war. On the Spanish battlefields was being decided the fate of Europe, and with it that of Cyprus. They recognised fascism as the greatest enemy of humanity and volunteered to help crush it”.
Photos also recalled the words of volunteer Michalakis Economides: “Every generation has its challenges. The cry of the thirties ‘Peace is indivisible’ is as true today as it was then. Indivisible also is the rule of law, democracy and above all the territorial integrity of nations. Partition is the filthiest crime of the age. Countries are cut in two to serve the requirements of imperialism”.
Some of the Cypriot volunteers lived to receive honorary Spanish citizenship in 1996, the 60th anniversary of the civil war, but the Republic of Cyprus has yet to recognise this heroic episode in Cypriot history.
“Today with this modest ceremony for the book launching our presence is a minimum respect and tribute to the heroic Cypriot volunteers of the International Brigades of the Democratic Army,” Photos said. Those present remembered those comrades by standing for a minute’s silence.
Spanish Thermopylae, published by Warren & Pell, can be obtained from Bibliagora , price £14.99.
photo:Paul Philippou (centre), Photos Kouzoupis (speaking), and Dr Niki Katsiaouni, Cultural Counsellor of the Cyprus High Commission.
Remembering Karl Marx at Highgate...
ROBERT LAURIE laid flowers on behalf of the New Communist Party by the tomb of Karl Marx last Saturday at the annual ceremony in Highgate Cemetery.
Marx died in his study at half-past two on the afternoon of Wednesday 14th March 1883.
To commemorate his passing the Marx Memorial Library has for many decades held an annual graveside oration at his burial place in Highgate Cemetery in North London at the exact moment of his death.
Prof John Callow gave the oration on behalf of the Library to all who had come to pay their respects to the memory of the author of Das Kapital including diplomats from socialist countries, Library members and a large contingent of Chinese students from Westminster College.
Marx died in his study at half-past two on the afternoon of Wednesday 14th March 1883.
To commemorate his passing the Marx Memorial Library has for many decades held an annual graveside oration at his burial place in Highgate Cemetery in North London at the exact moment of his death.
Prof John Callow gave the oration on behalf of the Library to all who had come to pay their respects to the memory of the author of Das Kapital including diplomats from socialist countries, Library members and a large contingent of Chinese students from Westminster College.
...and celebrating him at the Party Centre
COMRADES and friends gathered at the NCP Centre in south London last Saturday evening for their annual tribute to the co-founder of the modern communist movement. Tributes to Karl Marx were made by Jang Song Chol from the London embassy of the DPR Korea, John McLeod from the Socialist Labour Party and NCP general secretary Andy Brooks.
The NCP leader used a satirical parable from early Soviet literature to make the point that Marx was a practical revolutionary as well as a profound socialist theorist.
Now with the pillars of the capitalist world crashing down around us everyone can see that what Marx foresaw was now coming to pass.
But socialism was not inevitable Andy said. Marx warned that the alternative to socialism was barbarism and our task, together with struggling people all over the world was to work for the revolutionary change that will end all oppression and exploitation for ever. No NCP event can end without a stirring appeal for the fighting fund and the one given by National Chair Alex Kempshall was no exception.
We now have a paper which has jumped technology. We can be proud of our achievements but it all costs money. Alex called for a big collection for the New Worker Special Appeal and comrades dug deep to the tune of £1,298!
photo: Andy Brooks cracks a joke
Newroz in London
THE KURDISH community of London gathered in Trafalgar Square last Saturday to celebrate Newroz, the traditional Middle Eastern spring festival. Newroz has been celebrated for many years in the capital but never before in London’s historic Trafalgar Square.
Stalls served Kurdish and Turkish food as people danced to music from the Kurdish rappers and folk groups performing on the main stage throughout the afternoon.
Kurdish flags and others bearing pictures of imprisoned Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan were flown throughout the event. London Green MEP Jean Lambert and other MPs spoke to the cheering crowd, thanking them for the contribution that the Kurdish people have made to British society and encouraging them to be politically active in supporting candidates that take up the Kurdish cause.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Unions damn welfare reform bill
MEMBERS of the public and union activists lobbied MPs on Tuesday to protest against the Government’s reactionary welfare reform bill organised by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, the biggest civil service union in the country, and backed by the TUC and a number of other unions and pressure groups.
At the same time PCS has released a damning report that shows that public opinion is overwhelming opposed the Government’s plans that will lead to the privatisation of employment services and the social fund; introduce “work for welfare” schemes; abolish income support; cut benefits for single parents and those on long –term illness and require all parents of young children to seek work.
Speaking at the lobby at the House of Commons on Tuesday TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O’Grady stated that the Welfare Reform Bill is “the wrong Bill for the wrong time”, and that it will be resisted by unions.
“It’s clear that aspects of the Welfare Reform Bill now going through Parliament are not fit for purpose. This is the wrong Bill for the wrong time: conceived in a boom, about to be implemented in a bust,” he declared.
“The Government’s ideas would be flawed at the best of times; but with Britain deep in recession, these are emphatically not the best of times.
“Just think about the implications. A new regime for jobseekers, limiting the time for job search and retraining.
“Tougher rules for parents, undermining the Government’s pledge to halve and then end child poverty.
“The introduction of sanctions, stigmatising the most vulnerable as villains, not victims, and driving working people into poverty.
“And the privatisation and break up of a world-class public service, with private contractors profiting from joblessness.
“This is the reality confronting us. Why, after the near collapse of free-market capitalism, does the Government press ahead with an agenda of privatisation, marketisation and competition? Why, during the worst economic crisis for generations, is there seemingly one rule for the rich and another one for the rest?
“The contrast could not be starker. Bailouts for the bankers, punishments for the poor - welfare for Wall Sreet, workfare for working people. That is unacceptable; and we will resist it.
the answers
“So what are the answers? How do we create a welfare system that delivers in this downturn? The TUC is campaigning for a change of direction: for policies that give ordinary working people the help they need when they need it. We have already secured some important concessions - not least the welcome scrapping of plans to make disabled people look for jobs or risk losing benefits.
“But we need to go further. That means more generous benefits to stop people falling into poverty, and the TUC has been proud to lead the call for an immediate increase of £15 a week in Jobseekers Allowance.
“That means helping unemployed workers into proper retraining schemes and jobs that pay the going rate.
“And that means giving Jobcentre Plus and the dedicated staff who work in it the resources and the support they need to make a difference where it is needed most.
“Make no mistake: our welfare state has never been more needed than now. It is one of Britain’s greatest achievements. A genuine safety net for everyone: won through the campaigning of generations of socialists, trade unionists and progressive reformers. And we are not about to give up on that legacy now.
“So today let our message go out clearly. We will resist any changes that diminish our welfare system. We will stand up for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society. And that we will continue to fight for what we believe in.”
Seventy nine per cent of people are not confident of surviving on the current rate of jobseekers allowance (£60.50) according to an ICM poll for PCS. The poll also shows that just six per cent of respondents feel ‘very confident’ about the ability of private sector companies to take over some of the work of Jobcentres.
Coming against a backdrop of rising unemployment and government plans to privatise some of the work of Jobcentre Plus, the poll also shows that just one in three think there are enough jobcentres or that there are enough staff in jobcentres to deal with the current economic crisis.
Over the past five years the government has closed over 500 jobcentres and benefit offices.
Commenting, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “There is little appetite for the government’s plans to privatise some of the work of jobcentres, with the poll showing a lack of confidence in the private sector’s ability to take over this work.
“The public sector has consistently outperformed the private sector in getting people back into work with jobcentres working flat out and doing a fantastic job in helping the rising numbers of unemployed.
“This poll should be a wake up call to the government which needs to raise benefit levels to alleviate the threat of poverty, ditch its plans for privatisation and start opening Jobcentres to deal with rising numbers of unemployed.”
At the same time PCS has released a damning report that shows that public opinion is overwhelming opposed the Government’s plans that will lead to the privatisation of employment services and the social fund; introduce “work for welfare” schemes; abolish income support; cut benefits for single parents and those on long –term illness and require all parents of young children to seek work.
Speaking at the lobby at the House of Commons on Tuesday TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O’Grady stated that the Welfare Reform Bill is “the wrong Bill for the wrong time”, and that it will be resisted by unions.
“It’s clear that aspects of the Welfare Reform Bill now going through Parliament are not fit for purpose. This is the wrong Bill for the wrong time: conceived in a boom, about to be implemented in a bust,” he declared.
“The Government’s ideas would be flawed at the best of times; but with Britain deep in recession, these are emphatically not the best of times.
“Just think about the implications. A new regime for jobseekers, limiting the time for job search and retraining.
“Tougher rules for parents, undermining the Government’s pledge to halve and then end child poverty.
“The introduction of sanctions, stigmatising the most vulnerable as villains, not victims, and driving working people into poverty.
“And the privatisation and break up of a world-class public service, with private contractors profiting from joblessness.
“This is the reality confronting us. Why, after the near collapse of free-market capitalism, does the Government press ahead with an agenda of privatisation, marketisation and competition? Why, during the worst economic crisis for generations, is there seemingly one rule for the rich and another one for the rest?
“The contrast could not be starker. Bailouts for the bankers, punishments for the poor - welfare for Wall Sreet, workfare for working people. That is unacceptable; and we will resist it.
the answers
“So what are the answers? How do we create a welfare system that delivers in this downturn? The TUC is campaigning for a change of direction: for policies that give ordinary working people the help they need when they need it. We have already secured some important concessions - not least the welcome scrapping of plans to make disabled people look for jobs or risk losing benefits.
“But we need to go further. That means more generous benefits to stop people falling into poverty, and the TUC has been proud to lead the call for an immediate increase of £15 a week in Jobseekers Allowance.
“That means helping unemployed workers into proper retraining schemes and jobs that pay the going rate.
“And that means giving Jobcentre Plus and the dedicated staff who work in it the resources and the support they need to make a difference where it is needed most.
“Make no mistake: our welfare state has never been more needed than now. It is one of Britain’s greatest achievements. A genuine safety net for everyone: won through the campaigning of generations of socialists, trade unionists and progressive reformers. And we are not about to give up on that legacy now.
“So today let our message go out clearly. We will resist any changes that diminish our welfare system. We will stand up for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society. And that we will continue to fight for what we believe in.”
Seventy nine per cent of people are not confident of surviving on the current rate of jobseekers allowance (£60.50) according to an ICM poll for PCS. The poll also shows that just six per cent of respondents feel ‘very confident’ about the ability of private sector companies to take over some of the work of Jobcentres.
Coming against a backdrop of rising unemployment and government plans to privatise some of the work of Jobcentre Plus, the poll also shows that just one in three think there are enough jobcentres or that there are enough staff in jobcentres to deal with the current economic crisis.
Over the past five years the government has closed over 500 jobcentres and benefit offices.
Commenting, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “There is little appetite for the government’s plans to privatise some of the work of jobcentres, with the poll showing a lack of confidence in the private sector’s ability to take over this work.
“The public sector has consistently outperformed the private sector in getting people back into work with jobcentres working flat out and doing a fantastic job in helping the rising numbers of unemployed.
“This poll should be a wake up call to the government which needs to raise benefit levels to alleviate the threat of poverty, ditch its plans for privatisation and start opening Jobcentres to deal with rising numbers of unemployed.”
Friday, March 06, 2009
Making the case for council housing
MORE THAN 200 people including tenants, councillors, officers and trade unionists took part in the House of Commons Council Housing Group’s inquiry at Westminster on 25th February. Fourteen MPs heard verbal evidence from 25 delegations, dozens of local authorities, tenants’ organisations and trade unions have submitted written evidence and many met their MPs whilst at Westminster.
Campaigners from Defend Council Housing are asking everyone to make sure their MP signs the Early Day Motion Council House Building (EDM 355) and joins the Council Housing group at Parliament to show their support.
Delegations called for an end to the “robbery” from tenants’ rents – £1.7 billion this year!
They made a strong argument that Government has to stop charging tenants for “historic debts” that should have been paid several times over from the money government has siphoned out of council housing.
Everyone agreed that rents and receipts should be ring-fenced to fund the management, maintenance, repair and improvement of council housing although there is a debate about whether the national Housing Revenue Account should be maintained.
The Council Housing group intends to produce a report to submit to Housing Minister Margaret Beckett and has asked to meet Gordon Brown.
Campaigners from Defend Council Housing are asking everyone to make sure their MP signs the Early Day Motion Council House Building (EDM 355) and joins the Council Housing group at Parliament to show their support.
Delegations called for an end to the “robbery” from tenants’ rents – £1.7 billion this year!
They made a strong argument that Government has to stop charging tenants for “historic debts” that should have been paid several times over from the money government has siphoned out of council housing.
Everyone agreed that rents and receipts should be ring-fenced to fund the management, maintenance, repair and improvement of council housing although there is a debate about whether the national Housing Revenue Account should be maintained.
The Council Housing group intends to produce a report to submit to Housing Minister Margaret Beckett and has asked to meet Gordon Brown.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
London round-up
Police predict ‘summer of rage’
A SENIOR London police officer last week predicted that growing numbers of people losing their jobs and homes through the economic crisis are likely to take to the streets to demonstrate against financial institutions.
Superintendent David Hartshorn, who heads the Metropolitan Police public order branch, said his force is preparing to cope with hundreds of middle class individuals who would never have considered joining demonstrations may seek to vent their anger through potentially violent mass protests.
The police definition of middle class probably extends to anyone who has had a regular job and or a mortgage, reserving the term working class for the low paid who live on council estates.
Hartshorn said that banks, especially those still paying big bonuses after multi-billion pound taxpayer bail-outs, will become “visible targets”, along with other financial institutions in the City which are being blamed for the financial crisis.
To most of our readers this prediction of a sudden dawning of class consciousness may seem welcome and long overdue. But Hartshorn could be signalling changes in Met policy towards demonstrators, going back to the policies of confrontation that marked the miners’ and poll tax campaigns in the days before Ken Livingstone was Mayor of London and before the existence of the Greater London Authority police authority.
Met accused of apartheid
AN ASIAN community police officer formerly employed at Belgravia police station in London last week told an employment tribunal that the Metropolitan police still has a “culture of apartheid”.
Police community support officer Asad Saeed claims white officers framed him over an alleged assault on a vagrant in a McDonald’s burger restaurant in central London.
Saeed was ordered to be dismissed, but was later reinstated on appeal. Both hearings heard allegations of racism that Scotland Yard thought belonged to the “canteen culture” of two decades ago.
According to Saeed’s claim, which has been leaked to the press, one senior white officer privately wrote he believed some of the racism allegations. The internal police hearing heard, and Saeed claims in his employment tribunal hearing, that:
• Saeed was framed after complaining about racist behaviour by two white colleagues.
• One white officer made “threats of violence against other ethnic colleagues”.
• His complaints were ignored by senior officers, who turned a blind eye to the “apartheid culture”.
• White officers refused to allow black officers in their van.
• White officers refused to send a van out to pick up ethnic minority colleagues.
• Officers gambled inside the station’s common room for “large sums of cash”.
• Some white officers wrote up false stop-and-search forms “using east European names” they had made up.
• One officer sold “counterfeit merchandise inside [the police station]”.
• Handwritten notes from the disciplinary hearing that first dismissed the Muslim officer from the force were “inadvertently … mislaid”.
In his claim, Saeed says police bosses withheld from him CCTV evidence from the alleged assault that led to his dismissal. When he obtained it, he says, it showed he had not attacked anyone. Furthermore, one of his white colleagues who claimed to have witnessed the assault was not in the restaurant.
Saeed’s claims are all the more embarrassing because they were made public on the same day that new Met chief Sir Paul Stephenson was making a public speech to mark the 10th anniversary of the McPherson report, and was claiming that the Met was no longer institutionally racist.
Doreen Lawrence accuses police
TEN YEARS after the landmark inquiry into the appalling and way that local police responded to the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, his mother Doreen says that police are still failing black Britons and delivering them a second class service.
She was speaking to the Guardian to mark the approaching anniversary of the McPherson report into the murder of her son which found that police “professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership” lead to blunders that have allowed the killers to escape justice.
Doreen Lawrence said there have been positive changes in Britain but the mothers of other victims of racist murder have sought her advice because they too felt the police had let them down.
“Some mothers say they don’t feel as if they’ve been treated the same way as white victims’ families. Families out there are still feeling the same way I did when Stephen was killed.”
The McPherson report was scathing on the insensitivity of the police towards the bereaved Lawrence family and found that they were treated unsympathetically, had information withheld from them and the police would not accept that the murder was racist.
Doreen Lawrence says mothers are still contacting her with the same complaints.
Last week Stephen Otter, the Association of Chief Police Officer’s race and diversity spokesperson, claimed: “So much has changed over the past 10 years that I don’t thing it is right to label us institutionally racist.”
But Doreen Lawrence complains that after initial improvements, mainly at the higher levels, the police have lost interest in combating racist violence and new “anti-terror” laws mean that once again, Asian and black young people are being stopped and searched in large numbers.
“It comes down to racism again. Because of the colour of your skin, automatically if you are a black person, you must be into criminality,” said Lawrence.
She criticised the downgrading of the Commission for Racial Equality when it was merged with gender and disability equal rights groups to form the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
“Ten years on I think a lot of people have become complacent. They feel ‘we’ve done that, got the T-shirt; let’s move on’. The reality is we haven’t.
“Race is just wiped out of all the vocabulary, they use the word diversity, they seem to be more comfortable with it. I would not say they have given up caring about race. I just feel they believe they have addressed it.”
Her words echo the experiences of Dev Barrah of the Greenwich Council for Racial Equality, who has been combating racist violence in the London Borough of Greenwich for more than two decades now.
He reported that after the McPherson report, senior police were eager to improve and to work with him, learning how to respond to the needs of the local mixed, low-income community.
But those officers have moved on; new ones arrive and the process of education goes back to square one. Many officers see dealing with racism and community issues as a box to be ticked as they rise through the ranks; once they’ve done it they can forget it and move on with their careers.
A SENIOR London police officer last week predicted that growing numbers of people losing their jobs and homes through the economic crisis are likely to take to the streets to demonstrate against financial institutions.
Superintendent David Hartshorn, who heads the Metropolitan Police public order branch, said his force is preparing to cope with hundreds of middle class individuals who would never have considered joining demonstrations may seek to vent their anger through potentially violent mass protests.
The police definition of middle class probably extends to anyone who has had a regular job and or a mortgage, reserving the term working class for the low paid who live on council estates.
Hartshorn said that banks, especially those still paying big bonuses after multi-billion pound taxpayer bail-outs, will become “visible targets”, along with other financial institutions in the City which are being blamed for the financial crisis.
To most of our readers this prediction of a sudden dawning of class consciousness may seem welcome and long overdue. But Hartshorn could be signalling changes in Met policy towards demonstrators, going back to the policies of confrontation that marked the miners’ and poll tax campaigns in the days before Ken Livingstone was Mayor of London and before the existence of the Greater London Authority police authority.
Met accused of apartheid
AN ASIAN community police officer formerly employed at Belgravia police station in London last week told an employment tribunal that the Metropolitan police still has a “culture of apartheid”.
Police community support officer Asad Saeed claims white officers framed him over an alleged assault on a vagrant in a McDonald’s burger restaurant in central London.
Saeed was ordered to be dismissed, but was later reinstated on appeal. Both hearings heard allegations of racism that Scotland Yard thought belonged to the “canteen culture” of two decades ago.
According to Saeed’s claim, which has been leaked to the press, one senior white officer privately wrote he believed some of the racism allegations. The internal police hearing heard, and Saeed claims in his employment tribunal hearing, that:
• Saeed was framed after complaining about racist behaviour by two white colleagues.
• One white officer made “threats of violence against other ethnic colleagues”.
• His complaints were ignored by senior officers, who turned a blind eye to the “apartheid culture”.
• White officers refused to allow black officers in their van.
• White officers refused to send a van out to pick up ethnic minority colleagues.
• Officers gambled inside the station’s common room for “large sums of cash”.
• Some white officers wrote up false stop-and-search forms “using east European names” they had made up.
• One officer sold “counterfeit merchandise inside [the police station]”.
• Handwritten notes from the disciplinary hearing that first dismissed the Muslim officer from the force were “inadvertently … mislaid”.
In his claim, Saeed says police bosses withheld from him CCTV evidence from the alleged assault that led to his dismissal. When he obtained it, he says, it showed he had not attacked anyone. Furthermore, one of his white colleagues who claimed to have witnessed the assault was not in the restaurant.
Saeed’s claims are all the more embarrassing because they were made public on the same day that new Met chief Sir Paul Stephenson was making a public speech to mark the 10th anniversary of the McPherson report, and was claiming that the Met was no longer institutionally racist.
Doreen Lawrence accuses police
TEN YEARS after the landmark inquiry into the appalling and way that local police responded to the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, his mother Doreen says that police are still failing black Britons and delivering them a second class service.
She was speaking to the Guardian to mark the approaching anniversary of the McPherson report into the murder of her son which found that police “professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership” lead to blunders that have allowed the killers to escape justice.
Doreen Lawrence said there have been positive changes in Britain but the mothers of other victims of racist murder have sought her advice because they too felt the police had let them down.
“Some mothers say they don’t feel as if they’ve been treated the same way as white victims’ families. Families out there are still feeling the same way I did when Stephen was killed.”
The McPherson report was scathing on the insensitivity of the police towards the bereaved Lawrence family and found that they were treated unsympathetically, had information withheld from them and the police would not accept that the murder was racist.
Doreen Lawrence says mothers are still contacting her with the same complaints.
Last week Stephen Otter, the Association of Chief Police Officer’s race and diversity spokesperson, claimed: “So much has changed over the past 10 years that I don’t thing it is right to label us institutionally racist.”
But Doreen Lawrence complains that after initial improvements, mainly at the higher levels, the police have lost interest in combating racist violence and new “anti-terror” laws mean that once again, Asian and black young people are being stopped and searched in large numbers.
“It comes down to racism again. Because of the colour of your skin, automatically if you are a black person, you must be into criminality,” said Lawrence.
She criticised the downgrading of the Commission for Racial Equality when it was merged with gender and disability equal rights groups to form the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
“Ten years on I think a lot of people have become complacent. They feel ‘we’ve done that, got the T-shirt; let’s move on’. The reality is we haven’t.
“Race is just wiped out of all the vocabulary, they use the word diversity, they seem to be more comfortable with it. I would not say they have given up caring about race. I just feel they believe they have addressed it.”
Her words echo the experiences of Dev Barrah of the Greenwich Council for Racial Equality, who has been combating racist violence in the London Borough of Greenwich for more than two decades now.
He reported that after the McPherson report, senior police were eager to improve and to work with him, learning how to respond to the needs of the local mixed, low-income community.
But those officers have moved on; new ones arrive and the process of education goes back to square one. Many officers see dealing with racism and community issues as a box to be ticked as they rise through the ranks; once they’ve done it they can forget it and move on with their careers.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Remembering Stella
Friends and comrades of Stella Moutafis braved the harsh weather last Saturday to pay their last respects to the wonderful woman who died so sadly last December. But the memorial meeting at the Party Centre was a tribute to her life and dedication to the communist cause that began when she joined the NCP in 1990 and continued right up until her last days.
NCP leader Andy Brooks said Stella was modest to a fault but her determination to overcome illness to take part in the struggle for peace and socialism was shown in her eagerness to help build the Party and the New Worker in every way she could. She was always there – despatching the paper on Thursdays; leafleting or selling the New Worker on demonstrations; representing the Party at events and writing entertaining reviews for our journals. NCP President Eric Trevett spoke of her courage, sense of humour and her ideological strength – which was echoed in the tributes from Michael Chant from the RCPB (ML), Daphne Liddle and many others who had worked with her over the years.
Written tributes from Stefan Eggerdinger from the Workers’ League for the Restoration of the Communist Party of Germany and Korean friendship activist Dermot Hudson were read out by Party Chair Alex Kempshall who also spoke of Stella’s regular financial contribution to the fighting fund. Earlier in the day the Politburo of the NCP had decided to launch a New Worker £10,000 Special Appeal to meet the increased costs of colour production. He called on comrades to remember Stella in the way she would have wanted by kicking off the appeal with a bounce – and they did to the tune of £1,826.50!
Stella Moutafis was an outstanding comrade. She is sorely missed but she will never be forgotten.
NCP leader Andy Brooks said Stella was modest to a fault but her determination to overcome illness to take part in the struggle for peace and socialism was shown in her eagerness to help build the Party and the New Worker in every way she could. She was always there – despatching the paper on Thursdays; leafleting or selling the New Worker on demonstrations; representing the Party at events and writing entertaining reviews for our journals. NCP President Eric Trevett spoke of her courage, sense of humour and her ideological strength – which was echoed in the tributes from Michael Chant from the RCPB (ML), Daphne Liddle and many others who had worked with her over the years.
Written tributes from Stefan Eggerdinger from the Workers’ League for the Restoration of the Communist Party of Germany and Korean friendship activist Dermot Hudson were read out by Party Chair Alex Kempshall who also spoke of Stella’s regular financial contribution to the fighting fund. Earlier in the day the Politburo of the NCP had decided to launch a New Worker £10,000 Special Appeal to meet the increased costs of colour production. He called on comrades to remember Stella in the way she would have wanted by kicking off the appeal with a bounce – and they did to the tune of £1,826.50!
Stella Moutafis was an outstanding comrade. She is sorely missed but she will never be forgotten.
photo: Stella with NCP leader Andy Brooks
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Defying the Gaza aid bans
MEMBERS and supporters of the Stop the War Coalition in Bristol and Lewisham last weekend challenged bans on raising humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.
Last Friday protesters forced the Bristol Lloyds-TSB Bank to close amid scenes of chaos on Corn Street, as police and security guards failed to hold back a surge of chanting demonstrators reaching the doors of the bank. It hurriedly closed its doors and remained shut for the rest of the afternoon.
A crowd of over 60 Gaza campaigners assembled on Corn Street in the afternoon and sent a message into the bank to ask to see the manager. They wanted to discuss the “Early Day Motion” which is being circulated in Parliament accusing Lloyds Bank of blocking charity money reaching Gaza.
When no reply was received they laid out boxes of dolls wrapped in blood-stained shrouds on the steps of the Bank. These represented the extra deaths which will have occurred in Gaza due to Lloyds-TSB action.
Lloyds TSB recently ordered the Islamic Bank of Britain which it owns, to close the accounts of Interpal, a highly respected international humanitarian relief charity – working in Occupied Palestine
Interpal is a respected UK charity which helps alleviate the agony of Gaza. It has been thoroughly investigated by the Charities Commission (following malicious complaints by US Government) and had been given the all clear!
By doing this, Lloyds TSB is on the verge of ending humanitarian aid for up to five million Palestinian refugees in desperate need. It will only serve to escalate the horrific suffering of innocent people.
At first Lloyds TSB denied any hand in the affair however it has now transpired that Lloyds TSB (acting as a clearing bank) to Islamic Bank of Britain (with whom Interpal bank), wrote to the IBB on 8th October 2008 stating: “We are writing to you to give you notice that…we do not wish you to transfer, receive, process or in any way deal with any funds, or in any way whatsoever (acting either as banker or agent on behalf of the Customer) be involved with any type of banking arrangements for Interpal”
Even for a Goliath like Lloyds TSB, which has itself recently received billions of pounds in bailout funds from the British taxpayer, this is indeed uncharacteristic behaviour. Why would the bank take such a callous action? Remarkably no official reason has been given.
The Muslim community in Bristol were also supporting this event.
Imam Assad Ali Shah, Imam of St Marks Road Mosque said “The people of Gaza are suffering now – women, children, and the elderly. They have shortages of food, medicine, and all the basic necessities of life. The people of the world, for humanitarian reasons, are reaching out to help them. How can it be, that charities working on the ground like Interpal, have their work obstructed by Lloyds-TSB closing their accounts? This is a moral crime. This extra suffering far the people in Gaza will be on the shoulders of those who made these callous decisions.”
In Lewisham Norma and Mukhtar Rana, members of the local Palestine Solidarity Campaign and New Worker Supporters’ Group, horrified at the death and destruction inflicted on Gaza, wanted to raise some money to help the victims.
They applied to the administrators of the shopping mall – owned jointly by the London Borough of Lewisham and Grosvenor Estates (the Duke of Westminster) – to collect money for the registered charity, Medical Aid for Palestine, but were rejected on the grounds that it was “too political”.
So members of Lewisham Stop the War last Saturday entered the mall, armed with nothing but leaflets and collecting buckets for the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal for Gaza.
Almost immediately they were challenged by security staff, followed by a discussion. The collectors were forced to leave when the security guards called the police – but not before they had collected £186 for the people of Gaza.
The Stop the War comrades then proceeded to picket the local Lloyds TSB Bank, echoing the tactics of their Bristol colleagues the day before, carrying dolls swathes in “bloodstained” bandages and getting the message across to shoppers of the role that the bank was playing in preventing vital humanitarian aid reaching the people of Gaza.
Last Friday protesters forced the Bristol Lloyds-TSB Bank to close amid scenes of chaos on Corn Street, as police and security guards failed to hold back a surge of chanting demonstrators reaching the doors of the bank. It hurriedly closed its doors and remained shut for the rest of the afternoon.
A crowd of over 60 Gaza campaigners assembled on Corn Street in the afternoon and sent a message into the bank to ask to see the manager. They wanted to discuss the “Early Day Motion” which is being circulated in Parliament accusing Lloyds Bank of blocking charity money reaching Gaza.
When no reply was received they laid out boxes of dolls wrapped in blood-stained shrouds on the steps of the Bank. These represented the extra deaths which will have occurred in Gaza due to Lloyds-TSB action.
Lloyds TSB recently ordered the Islamic Bank of Britain which it owns, to close the accounts of Interpal, a highly respected international humanitarian relief charity – working in Occupied Palestine
Interpal is a respected UK charity which helps alleviate the agony of Gaza. It has been thoroughly investigated by the Charities Commission (following malicious complaints by US Government) and had been given the all clear!
By doing this, Lloyds TSB is on the verge of ending humanitarian aid for up to five million Palestinian refugees in desperate need. It will only serve to escalate the horrific suffering of innocent people.
At first Lloyds TSB denied any hand in the affair however it has now transpired that Lloyds TSB (acting as a clearing bank) to Islamic Bank of Britain (with whom Interpal bank), wrote to the IBB on 8th October 2008 stating: “We are writing to you to give you notice that…we do not wish you to transfer, receive, process or in any way deal with any funds, or in any way whatsoever (acting either as banker or agent on behalf of the Customer) be involved with any type of banking arrangements for Interpal”
Even for a Goliath like Lloyds TSB, which has itself recently received billions of pounds in bailout funds from the British taxpayer, this is indeed uncharacteristic behaviour. Why would the bank take such a callous action? Remarkably no official reason has been given.
The Muslim community in Bristol were also supporting this event.
Imam Assad Ali Shah, Imam of St Marks Road Mosque said “The people of Gaza are suffering now – women, children, and the elderly. They have shortages of food, medicine, and all the basic necessities of life. The people of the world, for humanitarian reasons, are reaching out to help them. How can it be, that charities working on the ground like Interpal, have their work obstructed by Lloyds-TSB closing their accounts? This is a moral crime. This extra suffering far the people in Gaza will be on the shoulders of those who made these callous decisions.”
In Lewisham Norma and Mukhtar Rana, members of the local Palestine Solidarity Campaign and New Worker Supporters’ Group, horrified at the death and destruction inflicted on Gaza, wanted to raise some money to help the victims.
They applied to the administrators of the shopping mall – owned jointly by the London Borough of Lewisham and Grosvenor Estates (the Duke of Westminster) – to collect money for the registered charity, Medical Aid for Palestine, but were rejected on the grounds that it was “too political”.
So members of Lewisham Stop the War last Saturday entered the mall, armed with nothing but leaflets and collecting buckets for the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal for Gaza.
Almost immediately they were challenged by security staff, followed by a discussion. The collectors were forced to leave when the security guards called the police – but not before they had collected £186 for the people of Gaza.
The Stop the War comrades then proceeded to picket the local Lloyds TSB Bank, echoing the tactics of their Bristol colleagues the day before, carrying dolls swathes in “bloodstained” bandages and getting the message across to shoppers of the role that the bank was playing in preventing vital humanitarian aid reaching the people of Gaza.
photo: demonstrators in Lewisham
London debut for Shanghai treasures
The British Museum has celebrated the launch of Shanghai Week in London with the opening of Treasures from Shanghai, a spectacular collection of 60 ancient Chinese jade and bronze masterpieces on show in Europe for the first time.
"This exhibition brings to London pieces of superlative quality rarely seen outside China itself," said the exhibition's guest curator Jessica Rawson.
"The Neolithic jades on display are astonishing, particularly those that feature fine designs of strange human-like figures, birds and monsters with large teeth."
She added: "The Shanghai Museum houses one of the world's greatest collections of Chinese art."
Chen Kelun, deputy director general of the Shanghai Museum, said the exhibition would provide "insights into the time-honoured urban civilization and etiquette of China" and identify themselves with the theme of the World Expo to be held in Shanghai next year.
The month-long exhibition is another example of the British Museum's collaboration with China after the exhibition First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army in 2007.
Shanghai Week is designed to commemorate the increasingly close relationship between Britain and China, and showcase the heritage and culture of Shanghai as it prepares for the World Expo.
Other highlights include a seminar at the Victoria and Albert Museum entitled "From London to Shanghai: Inheritance and innovation - wisdom in urban development" and a photographic exhibition at City Hall – Shanghai and Shanghai Exposition.
Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng and Boris Johnson, his London counterpart, sent congratulatory messages to Shanghai Week organizers.
Meanwhile, Sarah Brightman, who sang at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, has been named Shanghai 2010 World Expo Promotion Ambassador in Britain.
Shanghai Daily
The Treasures from Shanghai exhibition of jades and bronzes runs until the 27th March. It’s in Room Two at the British Museum, Great Russell Street, London. Galleries open from 10.00 to 17.30 (20.30 Thursdays and Fridays) and the admission is free.
"This exhibition brings to London pieces of superlative quality rarely seen outside China itself," said the exhibition's guest curator Jessica Rawson.
"The Neolithic jades on display are astonishing, particularly those that feature fine designs of strange human-like figures, birds and monsters with large teeth."
She added: "The Shanghai Museum houses one of the world's greatest collections of Chinese art."
Chen Kelun, deputy director general of the Shanghai Museum, said the exhibition would provide "insights into the time-honoured urban civilization and etiquette of China" and identify themselves with the theme of the World Expo to be held in Shanghai next year.
The month-long exhibition is another example of the British Museum's collaboration with China after the exhibition First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army in 2007.
Shanghai Week is designed to commemorate the increasingly close relationship between Britain and China, and showcase the heritage and culture of Shanghai as it prepares for the World Expo.
Other highlights include a seminar at the Victoria and Albert Museum entitled "From London to Shanghai: Inheritance and innovation - wisdom in urban development" and a photographic exhibition at City Hall – Shanghai and Shanghai Exposition.
Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng and Boris Johnson, his London counterpart, sent congratulatory messages to Shanghai Week organizers.
Meanwhile, Sarah Brightman, who sang at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, has been named Shanghai 2010 World Expo Promotion Ambassador in Britain.
Shanghai Daily
The Treasures from Shanghai exhibition of jades and bronzes runs until the 27th March. It’s in Room Two at the British Museum, Great Russell Street, London. Galleries open from 10.00 to 17.30 (20.30 Thursdays and Fridays) and the admission is free.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Cuba: 50 years of victory
By Andy Brooks
Solidarity and cultural events big and small are taking place up and down the country to mark the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution. Many are part of the festival organised by Cuba50, the umbrella committee supported by the Cuban Ministry of Culture, Cuban Embassy, Cuba Solidarity Campaign and a number of unions, tourist and business interests. Others like last week’s solidarity meeting in the House of Commons are being organised by progressive organisations like Third World Solidarity (TWS).
Third World Solidarity is no stranger to the Pakistani community in Britain or New Worker supporters in London. The driving force is its Chair, Mushtaq Lasharie, a Labour councillor in Kensington, and TWS has sponsored impressive solidarity events throughout the year since its foundation in 1986.
Last Tuesday was no exception with glittering panel of guest speakers that included the ambassadors of Cuba and Venezuela, veteran Labour politician Tony Benn, the famed American novelist and commentator Gore Vidal and, of course, Mushtaq Lasharie himself.
Ably chaired by Labour MP Dave Anderson speaker after speaker spoke of their impressions of the Cuban revolution and its lesson for today. Tony Benn said the Cuban revolution was one of the most important events of the 20th century because it was a direct attack on the US “Monroe Doctrine” which regarded the whole of Latin America as their own backyard. It gave the people of Cuba the opportunity to develop the full creative spirit of the Cuban people. Inspire by Fidel, they were led by Fidel, Benn said but the achievement was that of the Cuban people themselves.
Speaker after speaker paid their own tributes to Cuba’s new life on the day Barack Obama had been sworn in as President of the United States in Washington DC and this was the cue for Gore Vidal, who gave a scathing commentary on American political life over the period that largely spanned his own 80-odd years. Fidel had seen out all his enemies: the Kennedy brothers, Lyndon Johnson and the two Bush’s .But Vidal was mildly optimistic about Barack Obama saying he hoped the new president would restore the American constitution and American civil rights.
Gore Vidal visited Cuba in 2007 and he said “I came to Cuba with my broken knee to help break 40 years of embargo” – a call echoed by the 150 or so who packed the parliamentary committee room in Westminster.
The American man of letters who is wheel-chair bound called his assistant, a former US naval officer, to speak about “Veterans against the War” and the anti-war movement that is growing in the United States. Though “Veterans against the War” has only 2,000 members’ opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan amongst the officers and the rank-and-file was put at around 50 per cent and growing.
And that was the point Mushtaq Lasharie stressed in his call for solidarity with all the struggling peoples of the world, whether they be in Cuba, Iraq, Afghanistan or the streets of Gaza.
Third World Solidarity can be contacted by writing to : The Secretary, TWS, 303 Testerton Walk London W11 1WG
Solidarity and cultural events big and small are taking place up and down the country to mark the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution. Many are part of the festival organised by Cuba50, the umbrella committee supported by the Cuban Ministry of Culture, Cuban Embassy, Cuba Solidarity Campaign and a number of unions, tourist and business interests. Others like last week’s solidarity meeting in the House of Commons are being organised by progressive organisations like Third World Solidarity (TWS).
Third World Solidarity is no stranger to the Pakistani community in Britain or New Worker supporters in London. The driving force is its Chair, Mushtaq Lasharie, a Labour councillor in Kensington, and TWS has sponsored impressive solidarity events throughout the year since its foundation in 1986.
Last Tuesday was no exception with glittering panel of guest speakers that included the ambassadors of Cuba and Venezuela, veteran Labour politician Tony Benn, the famed American novelist and commentator Gore Vidal and, of course, Mushtaq Lasharie himself.
Ably chaired by Labour MP Dave Anderson speaker after speaker spoke of their impressions of the Cuban revolution and its lesson for today. Tony Benn said the Cuban revolution was one of the most important events of the 20th century because it was a direct attack on the US “Monroe Doctrine” which regarded the whole of Latin America as their own backyard. It gave the people of Cuba the opportunity to develop the full creative spirit of the Cuban people. Inspire by Fidel, they were led by Fidel, Benn said but the achievement was that of the Cuban people themselves.
Speaker after speaker paid their own tributes to Cuba’s new life on the day Barack Obama had been sworn in as President of the United States in Washington DC and this was the cue for Gore Vidal, who gave a scathing commentary on American political life over the period that largely spanned his own 80-odd years. Fidel had seen out all his enemies: the Kennedy brothers, Lyndon Johnson and the two Bush’s .But Vidal was mildly optimistic about Barack Obama saying he hoped the new president would restore the American constitution and American civil rights.
Gore Vidal visited Cuba in 2007 and he said “I came to Cuba with my broken knee to help break 40 years of embargo” – a call echoed by the 150 or so who packed the parliamentary committee room in Westminster.
The American man of letters who is wheel-chair bound called his assistant, a former US naval officer, to speak about “Veterans against the War” and the anti-war movement that is growing in the United States. Though “Veterans against the War” has only 2,000 members’ opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan amongst the officers and the rank-and-file was put at around 50 per cent and growing.
And that was the point Mushtaq Lasharie stressed in his call for solidarity with all the struggling peoples of the world, whether they be in Cuba, Iraq, Afghanistan or the streets of Gaza.
Third World Solidarity can be contacted by writing to : The Secretary, TWS, 303 Testerton Walk London W11 1WG
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Holocaust Memorial Day
AMBASSADORS, religious leaders, war veterans, local dignitaries, an MP, a union leader, communists and other progressives gathered last Tuesday at the Soviet War Memorial in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, next to the Imperial War Museum, to mark the international day of remembrance for the victims of the Nazi Holocaust.
The event began with a short religious service led by Rabbi the Reverend Alan Greenblatt who stressed the theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day: “Stand up to hatred”.
And he recited the Jewish prayer of remembrance for the dead.
This was followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Soviet War Memorial. Those who laid flowers included: Southwark Mayor Councillor Eliza Mann, Russian Ambassador Yury Fedotov, Southwark MP Simon Hughes and Philip Matthews of the Soviet Memorial Trust Fund.
Ambassadors and attachés from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan also laid flowers. As usual the North Russia Arctic Convoys Club laid flowers, as did the local British Legion, the RAF-Russia Association and many others.
The New Communist Party flowers were laid by Robert Laurie; Phil Brand laid flowers for the Communist Party of Britain.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Anger at Heathrow decision
THE CIVIL Service union PCS last week expressed anger at Government decision to go ahead with a third runway at Heathrow.
Other unions, Unite and GMB, welcomed the decision because it would provide construction jobs to build the airport extension and then more permanent jobs to staff it.
But PCS believes that a third runway would have a devastating environmental impact with the airport becoming the biggest source of carbon emissions in the country, as well as breaching European Union safety levels for nitrogen dioxide.
PCS believes there are viable alternatives to expanding Heathrow which have not been considered by the Government and pointed to research by authoritative sources, including the Sustainable Development Commission, which casts doubt upon the economic benefits of Heathrow expansion given the current downturn.
The union says research conducted recently by the Campaign for Better Transport shows that businesses in Britain do not need bigger airports.
A combination of high speed rail, better facilities at stations for business travellers and improved teleconferencing would serve the needs of business just as well.
Commenting on the announcement, PCS assistant general secretary Chris Baugh said: “A third runway at Heathrow must be opposed. It will create more noise and pollution and will mean the government won’t be able to meet the targets in the historic Climate Change Act passed in Parliament only last year.
“Over 1,000 people who live in the area will also be removed from their homes. The Government should instead produce a new transport strategy for the UK focussed upon a publicly owned high speed rail network that will create jobs and contribute to the transition to a low carbon economy and the fight against climate change.”
Other unions, Unite and GMB, welcomed the decision because it would provide construction jobs to build the airport extension and then more permanent jobs to staff it.
But PCS believes that a third runway would have a devastating environmental impact with the airport becoming the biggest source of carbon emissions in the country, as well as breaching European Union safety levels for nitrogen dioxide.
PCS believes there are viable alternatives to expanding Heathrow which have not been considered by the Government and pointed to research by authoritative sources, including the Sustainable Development Commission, which casts doubt upon the economic benefits of Heathrow expansion given the current downturn.
The union says research conducted recently by the Campaign for Better Transport shows that businesses in Britain do not need bigger airports.
A combination of high speed rail, better facilities at stations for business travellers and improved teleconferencing would serve the needs of business just as well.
Commenting on the announcement, PCS assistant general secretary Chris Baugh said: “A third runway at Heathrow must be opposed. It will create more noise and pollution and will mean the government won’t be able to meet the targets in the historic Climate Change Act passed in Parliament only last year.
“Over 1,000 people who live in the area will also be removed from their homes. The Government should instead produce a new transport strategy for the UK focussed upon a publicly owned high speed rail network that will create jobs and contribute to the transition to a low carbon economy and the fight against climate change.”
Friday, January 16, 2009
100,000 in London demand Gaza ceasefire
by Daphne Liddle
AROUND 100,000 protesters braved sub-zero temperatures and blistering winds last Saturday to take part in the biggest public demonstration for several years to express anger and anguish at the continuing slaughter of the people of Gaza by the invading Israeli war machine.
It was the second Saturday in a row that saw a massive demonstration on this issue in London, while other demonstrations continued in major cities throughout the world, along with local vigils and other protests.
The New Communist Central Committee banner was present among thousands of others from Palestine Solidarity, Stop the War, CND, dozens of Muslim organisations. There were also trade union and many trades council banners.
The protest began with a rally in Hyde Park, addressed by a long list of speakers, including Andrew Murray, who chairs Stop the War, Azzam Tamimi, director of Islamic Political Thought, George Galloway MP, Martin Linton MP, who founded Labour Friends of Palestine, jazz singer Annie Lennox, actor Lauren Booth, Children’s Poet laureate Michael Rosen, activist Bianca Jagger and the Reverend Garth Hewitt, canon at St George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem.
As the march flooded into Kensington High Street in order to lobby the Israeli Embassy police divided the march into sections and penned them separately into various pens, surrounded by steel barriers and ranks of riot police.
The marchers were then held in this way for almost two hours, unable to come or go and very cold, tired and in some discomfort, while riot police tried to provoke them into rioting. This was a tough time for elderly or very young demonstrators but for all their efforts to antagonise Asian youths in these penned enclosures, there was very little violent response – a few of the light wooden sticks used to hold up placards were thrown and some protesters brought old shoes they had brought for the purpose at the Israeli embassy.
At one stage police charged demonstrators, knocking some to the ground and injuring veteran campaigner Ray Davies from South Wales.
In the following mêlée the windows of a branch of Starbuck’s were broken.
Many noted that this seemed to be a return to the confrontational policing tactics of the 1980s which disappeared from London during the mayorship of Ken Livingstone.
Tory Mayor Boris Johnson last summer made a point of forcing the resignation of Metropolitan Police Chief Sir Ian Blair, who had worked closely with Livingstone. hackers
Immediately before the demonstration the website of Stop the War Coalition was forced to shut down after it was attacked by hackers.
A spokesperson said: “It’s a well-known tactic. The same thing happened to us before our anti-Iraq war protests in 2003. “We obviously can’t prove any connection but the timing would suggest that it’s a supporter of Israel. In fact, someone told me there is a firm in Israel which specialises in that sort of thing.
“At the same time that our website was under attack, a number of videos went up on YouTube which claimed the demonstration had been cancelled. Someone posted notices on our Facebook groups saying the same thing.”
Meanwhile the TUC has launched an emergency financial appeal through its TUC Aid organisation to assist the humanitarian effort in Gaza.
In the occupied north of Ireland there was a mass march against the massacres in Gaza organised by the Irish Congress of Trades Unions (ICTU) despite objections from the Democratic Unionist Party, which supports Israel.
A parade planned by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Trade Union Friends of Ireland has been cancelled.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Gaza massacre sparks world-wide protests
by Daphne Liddle
THOUSANDS of people gathered last Saturday in the wintry sunshine on London’s Embankment to join the rapidly-organised protest against the one-week-old Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which had turned from bombing raids to ground invasion on the Friday night.
The 50,000-strong protest was organised jointly by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War coalition, the Muslim Council of Britain, CND and other groups as one of dozens of similar demonstrations. Another 30 marches were held on the same day in Britain. Two thousand protesters joined a rally in Manchester. In Portsmouth, nearly 500 people took to the streets and some 300 marched in Bristol. Hundreds turned out in Cardiff.
Police said there were about 500 demonstrators in Glasgow and 600 in Edinburgh, although organisers said there were more like 2,000 protesters in each city.
Marches were held in France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Turkey and many other countries.
Israeli Arabs held a protest march, Kuwaitis also took to the streets, a day after bigger Middle East rallies, and peaceful pro- and anti-Israel protests were held in New York.
In Paris, police said more than 21,000 demonstrators, many wearing Palestinian keffiyeh headscarves, marched through the city centre chanting slogans such as “Israel murderer” and waving banners demanding an end to the air attacks.
There were many union banners on the London march and union leaders had urged their members to join it.
Many protesters paused along the route as they passed Downing Street to hurl old shoes at the security barricades there in solidarity with Iraqi journalist Muntadar al Zeidi, who had thrown his shoes at George Bush in a news conference in Baghdad in December.
Someone threw a firework, causing a lot of noise but no damage but police were unnerved by it.
The march was led by veteran campaigner Tony Benn, George Galloway MP, jazz singer Annie Lennox, activist Bianca Jagger and comedian Alexei Sayle.
At a news conference before the rally Dr Daud Abdullah of the Muslim Council of Britain said he found it “incomprehensible” that the British government, and the US, did not approve a Security Council vote calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Lennox said that TV footage of the attacks, which, at that stage, had killed more than 400 people, had left her “shaken to the core”.
Alexei Sayle said Jewish people in the public eye should stress this was “not being done in our name”. Later, addressing the rally in Trafalgar Square, he said Israel has an idea it was being noble but was using the “psychology of the murderer” to explain the attacks.
Meanwhile, Labour MP John McDonnell, who leads the Labour Representation Committee, accused the Government of “standing by” and demanded that Parliament was recalled to discuss urgent action on the crisis.
Former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone called for the European Union and Britain to withdraw their ambassadors from Israel to signal disapproval with the “slaughter and systematic murder of innocent Arabs”.
Respect MP George Galloway suggested Israel’s attacks would create a new generation of radicals around the world. “We will be very, very lucky if the explosions taking place in Gaza today don’t blow up in our own face at some time in the future,” he said. disproportionate
Bianca Jagger condemned the attack by Hamas against innocent Israeli citizens, but called for the international community to guarantee the immediate halt of the “disproportionate, unlawful use of force by Israel”.
She added: “I would like to make an appeal to President-elect Obama to speak up. People throughout the world were hopeful when he was elected and we must appeal to him to ask for the immediate cessation of the bombardment of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.”
After the rally around 5,000 demonstrators left the Square heading to the Israeli Embassy to continue the protests that had taken place there every evening since the bombing began.
As they made their way there were chaotic scenes when protesters entered an underpass. According to eyewitness reports, police in riot gear began hitting and stamping on protesters, leaving several wounded with head injuries. complaint
Organisers said they would make an official complaint to Scotland Yard after claiming that riot police charged into people during the protest. Eyewitnesses claimed that a number of people, including children, were thrown to the ground in an underpass at Hyde Park at the end of the demonstration.
Progressive political leaders around the world have condemned Israel’s brutality. Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams last Monday called on the International community to focus diplomatic efforts on persuading Israel to cease hostilities in Gaza.
Adams said: “The Israeli ground offensive in Gaza, while widely anticipated, will be greeted with horror around the world. The latest development marks a further escalation of the onslaught endured by the people of Gaza for the past week.
“The United Nations has advised that there is a growing shortage of basic foodstuffs and fresh water because of damage to the infrastructure in Gaza.
“This is nothing short of a humanitarian crisis. More than 400 people have already been killed while hospitals are struggling to cope with the more than 2,000 injured. The combined efforts of the international community, including that of the Irish Government and the EU, must now be bent towards resolving the situation in Gaza. All diplomatic efforts must be focused on persuading the Israeli Government to cease its operations in Gaza and end hostilities.”
Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad has blamed the United States for backing Israeli military aggression against Palestinians in Gaza, saying it makes the US “much more guilty than even the Israelis”.
Mahathir Mohamad, long known for his anti-West views, on Monday said that no matter how clever or powerful Israel was it would not be able to carry out the offensive without US support.
“The backing by the US gives it encouragement to do all these things which I think ordinary Americans would not like to see them do,” Mahathir said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
“Israelis believe if they go to war there is this big brother that is going to come with the weapons, with the money, so they don’t care what the world thinks.”
The Indian government also condemned the Israeli aggression. “The Government of India condemns the on-going incursion into Gaza by Israeli ground and other forces. It urges an immediate end to military action by all concerned,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in New Delhi.
He said the suffering of civilians in the region must end.
India has also announced an aid of US$ one million for the civilian victims of the action in Gaza.
There will be another national demonstration this Saturday, 10th January – Assemble Hyde Park: March to Israeli Embassy High St Kensington, London. There are also daily protests on 5th to 9th January, 5.30pm-7.00 pm Israeli Embassy, High St, Kensington, London.
And there will be a march through Cardiff on Friday 9th January assembling at 2pm on the green opposite City Hall and a vigil at the Nye Bevan statue from 12 noon to 1pm every Tuesday until the massacres stop.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
75 years of enlightenment
NEW COMMUNIST Party leader Andy Brooks and Robert Laurie from the Central Committee attended a celebration at the Marx Memorial Library on 10th December to mark the 75th anniversary of its foundation. Prof David McLellan and Dr John Callow both spoke on Marx in London and in the world and a recently donated portrait of Paul Robeson was unveiled on the second floor.
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