As ye sow…

...so shall ye reap was what Paul told the followers of Jesus of Nazareth two thousand years ago. Sadly this lesson is still not understood by many of those who now live in the land that the Apostle knew so well.
The deadly Hamas raid into Israel last weekend that killed over a thousand Israelis and wounded thousands more reflected the pent-up fury of the Palestinian masses in the Gaza Strip who have endured a brutal and often bloody Israeli siege for years. Ignored by the West which has armed Israel to the teeth and betrayed by the feudal Arab oil princes who crawl to the imperialists whose guns prop up their thrones the Palestinians in Gaza have closed ranks behind the Hamas leadership and the other resistance movements that believe that confrontation is the only way forward.
While the Israelis pound the densely populated settlements in the Gaza Strip they are  amassing their forces for a new onslaught. Many thousands of Palestinians will die in the carnage that will inevitably follow.
Assured of blanket Western support the Israelis are clearly out to crush all Palestinian resistance to their occupation. But they never learn.
This seemingly endless cycle of violence started when the first Arab-Israeli war began in 1948. The Palestinians were driven from their homes and robbed of their land. But wherever there is oppression, there is resistance.
The refugees have the right to return or receive compensation, if they so want it, for their stolen land. The Palestinians have the right to self-determination; to establish their own independent state as was envisaged by the same United Nations that created the State of Israel in the first place. 
The Palestinians remained determined to fight. They still are and they still will be no matter what the Israelis throw at them.
Russian and Chinese calls at the United Nations for a cease-fire and genuine peace talks to end the conflict were, of course, routinely ignored by the Americans and their lackeys. They still think that victory comes through air-superiority and hi-tech weapons. Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan proved them wrong. And they’ve been taught no end of a lesson in Palestine...  

Corbyn honoured in Islington

 by Theo Russell

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn received an ecstatic welcome in a packed Islington Town Hall committee room in London last week, as he was appointed honorary president of Islington Trades Council. Local trade unionists and labour movement activists spoke about Corbyn's unparalleled commitment to the working class, peace and anti-imperialist struggles, on picket lines, election canvassing, and countless campaign meetings.
Ken Muller from the NUE said "our ruling class can live with reactionary nationalists around the world, but it can't live with Jeremy's support for the Palestinians and the Chagos Islanders against imperialism".
Lord John Hendy KC, a Labour peer, said Corbyn was the “greatest leader Labour ever had", and that "Jewish people in Islington have always felt fully supported by Jeremy".
Una Doyle from Islington Trades Council referred to the current Labour leader as "Sir Kid Starmer", and said the problems faced by local food banks were getting worse and worse, many local people were struggling to make ends meet and had lost all hope. She recalled that when the first four black MPs were elected, they used to call Corbyn "the fifth black MP" because he gave them so much support.
Labour councillor and veteran trade unionist Mick Gilgunn pointed out that "Jeremy was one of the few Labour MPs who spoke out against the 2003 Iraq war, and helped organise the Stop the War Coalition" while Councillor Saiqa Pandore expressed her gratitude for Corbyn's support for the Muslim community in Islington, saying that Corbyn "stood by us and gave us the confidence to come into politics". And Andrew Murray from the Morning Star said that "those who take the Guardian view of politics do everything for the poor, but do nothing when the poor start helping themselves".
Several speakers, including  Phil Graham from ASLEF, urged Corbyn to stand again as an MP for the constituency, as he grapples with the dilemma of being blocked as a candidate by Starmer's Labour Party.
In his acceptance speech, Corbyn spoke of the long history of working class struggle in Islington, recalling that the largest peace demonstration in August 1914 took place in the borough. Turning to current issues, he pointed out that "the pay increases won by teachers are being taken out of school budgets".
Corbyn spoke of the many in the labour movement who feel  is empowered, saying that "most people in Britain support public ownership of services”. But he said this was not possible "in a grotesquely unequal society where the billionaires’ wealth is growing by the minute, while the food bank queues are growing by the metre every week”. He said the political alternative must be more than an offer to manage the economy as it is at the moment, “it requires fundamental transformation”.
The event showed Corbyn in fine fighting spirit, a man enjoying mass support across all the communities in Islington, and who has lost none of his ability to lead and inspire all those fighting for a better and more just future for the working class in Britain.

74 years of victory!

Chinese artists entertaining the guests

By New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined diplomats, academics, businessmen and solidarity workers at a reception to mark the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China last week.
The ball-room of the Landmark Hotel in central London was packed with hundreds of guests celebrating the establishment of the people’s government on 1st October 1949. Chinese diplomat Yang Xiaoguang warmly welcomed the guests in an opening address in which he outlined the extraordinary achievements of China's economic and social development in the 74 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China. He pointed out that the fundamentals of the Chinese economy, characterised by strong resilience, enormous potential, great vitality and long-term sustainability, remain unchanged and that there is a bright future for China’s economic prospects.
China will solidly promote high-quality development with a people-centred approach, commit to high-level opening up and keep to the path of peaceful development. Recently exchanges between China and the UK, at various levels, have increased. 
On behalf of the British government Lord Johnson, the Minister of State for International Trade, spoke highly of China’s  economic miracle. He said that UK-China relations are crucial  and expressed readiness to strengthen engagement with China and jointly deal with major global issues.
During the reception a short film was screened showcasing China's economic and social achievements and artistic troupes from the Guangzhou province in southern China staged a wonderful cultural performance.

George Johannes remembered

Peter Hain speaking

 by New Worker correspondent

A celebration of the life of African National Congress (ANC) and communist activist and former ambassador to the Holy See, George Johannes took place last week at the South African High Commission in London's Trafalgar Square.
Chitra Karve, chair of Action for Southern Africa, paid tribute to George, saying that he had "contributed to the liberation of our beloved country with distinction and dignity".
    Peter Hain, a former leading Anti Apartheid Movement (AAM) activist and Labour government minister, said the George had been on the BOSS (apartheid South African intelligence service) list for kidnapping or murder, pointing out that several leading anti-apartheid members had been murdered and he himself had received a deadly letter bomb in London.
    Hain said that for years the British AAM "was in a minority, criticised, besieged, infiltrated and targeted", and recalled that in 1996 Margaret Thatcher called Nelson Mandela a terrorist. Years later, when she attended Mandela's speech to both houses of parliament, Hain described seeing her "scuttling to her seat".
    Former ANC UK spokesperson and High Commission political attache Nad Pillay said that George studied at the University of Cork and formally joined the ANC in 1976 after his return to Africa.
He underwent military training, and worked on intelligence and security under the name Joseph Louw. He then worked in Angola and Zambia before moving to London.
    "George travelled across the UK for the ANC and was known, if I remember correctly, as something of a 'Trot-basher', Nad recounted. "I look forward to raising a glass in memory of George Johannes, persistent in adversity, a comrade in the struggle"
    A message from the Secretary General of the African National Congress said "Comrade George's work for Radio Freedom, Umkhonto we Sizwe (the armed wing of the ANC), and at the ANC's Penton Street office in London, were landmarks in his life of struggle."
    Another message from Cheryl Carolus, the first London High Commissioner after apartheid, described George as "a trusted colleague, a wise advisor and friend, and a respected member of the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party".
    A group of singers led by vocalist Queen Patience sang a selection of beautiful and very moving songs in George's memory.
    During his time working at the South African High Commission in London from 1998 to 2005, as Political Counsellor and then Deputy High Commissioner, George became a member of the New Communist Party. He is still remembered by many NCP members as an inspiring and energetic comrade and a very attractive and lively personality.

Warmonger Britain - Stop Arming Zelensky!

by New Worker correspondent

London comrades were back in Whitehall last weekend demanding an end to British military aid to Ukraine. The protest picket, called by the International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity campaign (IUAFS) was covered by the Arab and Russian media. The Lebanese satellite TV news channel, Al Mayadeen, broadcast interviews with NCP leader Andy Brooks and Theo Russell, the national organiser of the IUAFS and Theo was later interviewed by Russia Today (RT).
In the past 20 years Britain has joined wars, regime changes and covert interventions which have brought death, destruction and chaos around the world, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Hong Kong, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Belarus. Today the British ruling class is virtually at war with Russia in Ukraine, while desperately trying to organise subversion in Russia and Belarus.
Britain has worked with reactionary Islamic terrorists around the world, and with resurgent fascists in Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic States to further its imperialist aims.
British weapons are being used by the openly Nazi Azov regiment, while on the eve of Ukraine's major offensive against the Donbas republics on 17 February 2022 the UK military were training Ukraine's National Guard, which includes a thousand-strong neo-Nazi unit.
Boris Johnson himself led the way to sabotage the Istanbul peace agreement in April 2022, which we now know was very close to completion. Now Britain is coming under attack even in Kiev for sabotaging the talks, considering the enormous losses Ukrainians have suffered for effectively fighting on NATO's behalf.
According to Tony Brenton, the former UK ambassador to Moscow, Britain is the most aggressive of all the NATO members in Ukraine. He told BBC Radio 4 in May: "We have more special forces in Ukraine than any other NATO country. We are seen as an absolute hawk up there with the Poles and the Baltic states." 
Vladimir Zelensky's Jewish heritage has not prevented him from allying with the fascist Banderite gangs in Ukraine. On 14th  August he posted a video on his Telegram channel showing him meeting Ukraine's top neo-Nazi Andriy Biletsky, founder of the Azov Battalion and the Hitler-worshipping Right Sector. Biletsky famously declared in 2010 that the Ukrainian nation's mission was to "lead the white races of the world in a final crusade ... against Semite-led Untermenschen [subhumans]". Now he claims not to be a fascist, and that this quote was fabricated - conveniently for Kiev's NATO backers!

Stop the Arms Fair!

by New Worker correspondent

Londoners gathered at vigil last week organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) to oppose the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair in London. The vigil in Cundy Park in East London highlighted DSEI’s role in arming Israeli apartheid, and other repressive states around the world.
The PSC protest on Tuesday 5th September was just the start of a wave of protests against the biennial arms fair that opened on Monday at the Excel Centre in London’s Docklands. The fair, one of the largest arms festivals in the world, is attended by hundreds of arms companies to showcase weapons and military technology on the international market. Over the years the DSEI arms festival has faced sustained opposition from a variety of anti-racist and international justice groups who say the arms fair fuels the transfer of weapons and military technology used in assaults against indigenous and other marginalised communities across the world.
The protesters condemned the presence of Israeli military officials and Israeli arms companies, which develop and use weapons in violence against Palestinians, before selling them as ‘battle-tested’ to other states. This year alone, Israel has killed over 200 Palestinians in military incursions, air raids and assassinations.
They called on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has previously stated his opposition to the fair, to act to bring a halt to the event. Protesters also turned their fire on the Government, which helps organise the event through the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Trade.
PSC Director Ben Jamal, said “The DSEI arms fair provides a venue to Israel’s apartheid regime to buy weapons, and allows Israeli arms companies to sell their lethal weapons developed through Israel’s attacks on Palestinians to other repressive states. The arms fair must be shut down.
“In addition, we call on the British government to end the arms trade between the UK and Israel through the introduction of a comprehensive military embargo, as Palestinian civil society has repeatedly demanded”.

Stepping stones to socialism

Dermot Hudson and Andy Brooks

by New Worker correspondent

Friends of Korea met in London last weekend to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 2nd September 1948. NCP leader Andy Brooks and Michael Chant from the RCPB (ML) were there along with other veteran campaigners and supporters of the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) event at the Marchmont Centre in Bloomsbury on Saturday.
Opening the meeting KFA UK Chair Dermot Hudson said that “from the first day of its foundation, the DPRK has advanced along the road of Juche, the road of self-reliance, independence and socialism. Juche Korea was not a copy of another country but a unique and original state”.
DPRK diplomat Kim Song Gi  brought greetings from DPRK’s London embassy and told the audience that under the leadership of  Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il the DPRK travelled the road of struggle, never giving up even though the moves of the hostile forces continue to this day. And today, led by Kim Jong Un, the Korean people march confidently into the future. 
Other speakers included Jef Bossyut of the Belgium KFA and Jeremy Bieringer (KFA Germany) while  Alejandro Cao De Benos joined us live on video link from Spain. The fact that the DPRK has withstood the test of time, disasters, sanctions and imperialist threats for 75 years, is evidence of the invincible validity of its system and the full support of the korean people in its future”. Alejandro, the  international president of the Korean Friendship Association cannot travel abroad as his passport was confiscated by the Spanish authorities some seven years ago. But they haven’t, as yet,  barred him from the social media.
Christer Lundgren, the Chair of the Swedish-Korean Friendship Association, also joined us on Zoom saying “during its 75 years of existence the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has had extremely challenging difficulties to overcome, including the fierce Fatherland Liberation War, the postwar reconstruction and industrialization, continuous war threats and extreme economic difficulties caused by the imperialists’ manoeuvres to isolate and stifle People’s Korea as well as by the collapse of some other socialist countries”.
This hybrid meeting, spanned half the world. It was a first for the KFA. It certainly won’t be the last. 

People’s China: taking the lead for peace

New Communist Party leader Andy Brooks took part in a seminar on the role of the Communist Party of China and the world today at the Chinese embassy in London in August. This is his contribution to the discussion.

We meet at a time of sharpening contradictions — and the primary contradiction in the world today is between United States imperialism and the rest of the world it seeks to dominate..
    Generations of Chinese communists struggled against dogmatism and sectarianism to build a people’s democracy in their own way, to serve the needs of the working people of China and throughout the wider world we live in – a world torn apart by war and stricken by poverty and disease. While the American imperialists incite conflict and sectarian division People’s China has taken the lead in helping to build the economies of the Global South while working for peace and harmony throughout the world,
    We too must struggle for peace and nuclear disarmament – as well as the abolition of other weapons of mass destruction.
    Imperialism fans the flames of war in Ukraine and the Middle East, blocks the return of Taiwan to its Chinese homeland and prolongs the unhappy partition of many countries including Cyprus, Ireland, Kashmir and Korea. China’s perspective, on the other hand, is based on the concept of ‘one country, two systems’ and the principle that ‘a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought’. But the most aggressive sections of the American ruling class now at the helm in Washington clearly believe in “one world, one system” and that nuclear war is, under certain circumstances, entirely winnable.
    The Chinese revolution that established the people’s government in 1949 has transformed the country that was then the poorest in the world. Since then China has risen from being a weak semi-feudal, semi-colonial country to become a force for peace in the global arena with the second largest economy in the world.
    People’s China, the fifth permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, is the only veto-power actively supporting proposals for multilateral nuclear disarmament. Pledging never to be the first to use nuclear weapons in any conflict, China stands for the complete prohibition and total destruction of all atomic weapons.
    China, backed by many other countries, has repeatedly challenged the West to implement the entire non-proliferation treaty, signed in 1968, that not only called a halt to nuclear proliferation but also committed the signatories to work towards universal nuclear disarmament.
    The struggle to abolish nuclear weapons is crucial for the survival of humanity. But central to averting a Third World War is the need to eliminate the causes of war. And that is why communists have always understood that the struggles for peace and socialism are indivisible.
    The Chinese communists are striving to achieve lasting world peace, so that all countries can enjoy a peaceful and stable external environment and their people can live a happy life with their rights fully guaranteed to build a world that is free from fear and enjoys universal security. 
    This is, of course, a quantum jump from the post-war Soviet policies of “peaceful co-existence” and “detente” that failed to end the Cold War and probably accelerated the collapse of the USSR. Peaceful co-existence mistakenly believed that the capitalists could be economically beaten at their own game while detente was, in essence, a futile Soviet attempt at achieving nuclear parity with the Americans to divide the world into Soviet and American spheres of influence.
    Sadly the United Nations has been marginalised by the imperialists who only pay lip service to UN institutions when it suits their purposes. When it doesn’t the world forum is ignored and discarded.
    So though the United Nations remains a prime focus China has taken the initiative in setting up other platforms for economic and diplomatic co-operation including BRICS, the Belt & Road Initiative and the Shanghai Co-operation Council.
    China has become a beacon of hope for all the peoples of the world struggling to build their own independent economies without imperialist interference. While Anglo-American and Franco-German imperialism use their military and economic might to impose their neo-colonial rule throughout the Global South the Chinese people can, and do, provide the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America with an alternative source of high technology and economic assistance without the odious strings attached that always go with deals with the West.
    China puts people first. China has become a pivot for peace in a world torn apart by imperialist greed and aggression. China is strong but it threatens no one. China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. It stays true to the principle of equality of all countries big or small, strong or weak, and rich or poor, and it respects the development paths and social systems independently chosen by all the world’s peoples. The people’s government is dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future.
    China stands ready to work with all countries and peoples who love peace and aspire to happiness to address all kinds of traditional and non-traditional security challenges, protect the peace and tranquility of the planet, and jointly create a better future for humanity, so that the torch of peace will be passed on from generation to generation and shine across the world.
    Earlier this year the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, launched the “global security initiative” that lays out core concepts and principles regarding global peace and security.
    The first is to eliminate conflict through the establishment of a balanced, effective, and sustainable security framework under which countries respect the legitimate security concerns of each other and promote political solutions to cope with hotspot issues.
    The second is the promotion of economic development in the Global South.
    The third is respect for diversity. It is the right of every country to choose its own political system and development path.
    Finally all international disputes should be resolved through dialogue not unilateralism and hegemonic acts. The UN can play a positive role in international affairs if the voice and representation of countries throughout the Global South is expanded in the world forum.
    This is what we should all be working for. Hopefully we will live to see it happen in the years to come.

On The Streets

 

by New Worker correspondent

Industrial action over pay by traffic wardens in the London borough of Camden began at the end of July. Over a month  later the dispute continues with little sign of movement from bosses.
The wardens are employed by outsourcing company NSL, part of Marston Holdings, which made a £23.1 million profit in the year to May 2022 from its activities which include “ethical” debt collecting, whatever that is.
    The council makes about £40,000 a day from collecting parking fines so the industrial action is blowing a large hole in council finances. These parking fines have sometimes came from ambulances.
At present the wages are £12.70 an hour, with Unison seeking an increase to £15.90, a claim submitted last December. For this they have to work a 42.5 hour week in all weathers.
    While they were classified as key workers during the Covid pandemic, on the grounds they kept spaces clear for NHS workers to come into work, their services are not always met with happy smiles from grateful motorists.
    NSL say that the Unison claim is unrealistic, but the 25 per cent increase they are seeking is from a very low base.
    Branch secretary Liz Wheatley said, despite NSL’s claims, the present offer is effectively on a below inflation 7.5 per cent. NSL’s profits increased from £5.8 million in 2021 to £9.2 million last year. The boss’s salary went up from £258,000 to £412,000 which is a 60 per cent increase or to £221 an hour.
Camden Council have not responded to Unison demands to put pressure on NSL to make a settlement they can clearly afford. Unison also demands that they are brought back in house, a promise the Labour council made five years ago. The Council pays £30 hourly to NSL for the workers but the wardens get less than half that so the savings are obvious.
    In contrast to in-house employee who work 36 hours with 25 days holidays and sick pay NSL workers only 20 days holiday and paid for the first three days off sick. Pension provision is naturally much worse. Working on rest days, which for many is a necessity brings in only an extra £15.

China: Expanding horizons for peace

 by New Worker correspondent

Andy Brooks speaking

NEW COMMUNIST Party leader Andy Brooks took part in a seminar with other communists, academics and solidarity activists on the role of the Communist Party of China and the world today at the Chinese embassy in London this week.
The NCP delegation, that included national organiser Theo Russell, joined Robert Griffiths, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain and Ella Rule, the Chair of the CPGB (ML) in the discussion that looked at China’s new Global Security Initiative and its long-standing efforts to promote sustainable development in the Global South and throughout the rest of the world.
The symposium was opened by Ambassador Zheng Zeguang who said that the Chinese people are acting upon the goals set forth at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China and working hard to achieve the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through a Chinese path of modernisation. “We are also taking concrete steps to promote high-quality development. Many British friends who have recently visited China are amazed by the prominent progress China has made over the past few years in green and low-carbon development and the digital economy. And they are full of confidence for China’s economic progress”.
People’s China has always upheld the principle that all countries, big or small, are equal. “We never engage in economic coercion, and we oppose bullying and coercion by others. It’s only when China’s core interests are undermined by certain countries that we take legitimate and reasonable counter-measures”. 
In his opening Andy Brooks said “imperialism fans the flames of war in Ukraine and the Middle East, blocks the return of Taiwan to its Chinese homeland and prolongs the unhappy partition of many countries including Cyprus, Ireland, Kashmir and Korea. China’s perspective, on the other hand, is based on the concept of ‘one country, two systems’ and the principle that ‘a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought’. But the most aggressive sections of the American ruling class now at the helm in Washington clearly believe in “one world, one system” and that nuclear war is, under certain circumstances, entirely winnable”. 
China is striving to achieve lasting world peace through the traditional United Nations framework and through other platforms for economic and diplomatic co-operation including BRICS, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Shanghai Co-operation Council.
This, the NCP leader said, “was a quantum jump from the post-war Soviet policies of “peaceful co-existence” and “detente” that failed to end the Cold War and probably accelerated the collapse of the USSR. Peaceful co-existence mistakenly believed that the capitalists could be economically beaten at their own game while detente was, in essence, a futile Soviet attempt at achieving nuclear parity with the Americans to divide the world into Soviet and American spheres of influence”. 
China, backed by many other countries, has repeatedly challenged the West to implement the entire non-proliferation treaty, signed in 1968, that not only called a halt to nuclear proliferation but also committed the signatories to work towards universal nuclear disarmament. 
The struggle to abolish nuclear weapons is crucial for the survival of humanity. But central to averting a Third World War is the need to eliminate the causes of war. And that is why communists have always understood that the struggles for peace and socialism are 
indivisible.

Gerald George Shaw

George Shaw

London comrades and friends were saddened to hear of the passing of George Shaw, a veteran campaigner who was a stalwart supporter of the people of the Donbas and often seen on protest pickets outside the American and south Korean embassy.
    Gerald George Shaw was born in November 1936. He grew into a young man interested in engineering. During his years in the car industry, he became a Labour Party member, a militant trade unionist and a supporter of the British Posadist movement in theTrotskyist Fourth International
He moved to London in the mid-1970s, settling in Wembley. He joined the Brent Trades Council, supported the striking Grunwick workers and helped the Kilburn Unemployed Working Group in their many campaigns against inhuman treatment by the DWP.
    George moved to Barnet in more recent years, where he died on 27 July 2023. He represented Unite on the Barnet Trades Council and as a Labour Party member, he defended the comrades of the Labour Against the Witch-hunt. He repudiated the fraudulent conflation between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.
    As a Republican, George helped present the thesis by Bruno Leipold: Citizen Marx and Republic. In later years he joined the International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity front (IUAFS) where he denounced NATO as the warmonger that uses Ukraine as a platform for its war on Russia, China and their allies. Despite his age and health issues he joined numerous protest auctions in solidarity with the victims of the fascist-backed coup in February 2014 and the tragic events which followed.
    George's communist confidence in humanity lives on through the continuation of our struggle for justice and equality without which there will never be peace.

For peace on the Korean peninsula

in the Sid French library

by New Worker correspondent

Korean solidarity campaigners met at the NCP’s Party Centre in London last weekend for a hybrid seminar to celebrate the victory of the Korean people over US imperialism and its lackeys in the Korean war and discuss the prospects for peace on the Korean peninsula and the way forward for the solidarity campaign in Britain.
    NCP leader Andy Brooks, who chaired the Friends of Korea (FoK) event, welcomed everyone to the meeting, at the Sid French library or by video link, to hear key-note openings from FoK secretary Michael Chant and Dermot Hudson of the Korean Friendship Association and an online contribution from Song Gi Kim from the Democratic Korean embassy in London. This was followed by contributions from everyone in the room and from many of the online participants across the country.
    The Korean war ended on 27th July 1953 with an armistice that promised free elections to end the partition of the Korean peninsula. But the Americans never kept their word and the country remains divided between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the north and a puppet regime in the south that is propped up by tens of thousands of US troops and an American nuclear armada off the coast.
    The US has done everything possible to maintain its military presence on the Korean peninsula. But the resistance of the DPRK continues, as the Korean people proudly demonstrate their mettle and build their own future.
    Victory Day is not simply a celebration for commemorating and looking back to a chapter of resistance in a previous era. The day also serves as a reminder that the US imperialists and their lackeys are stepping up war preparations in the Asia Pacific rim, and that the terrible tragedies visited upon the Korean people during the Korean War must never again be permitted. The significance of that war is taking on new meaning today as the US imperialists beat the drums of war to attempt to justify a nuclear catastrophe that threatens the very survival of the Korean people and the peoples of the world. But it further serves as a reminder that it is the people who are the makers of history and that they themselves must prevail against war.

In search of Karl Marx

NCP leader Andy Brooks at Marx' statue

by Carole Barclay

London comrades went to Trier in July – a small German town in the Moselle valley just a few miles from the border with Luxembourg.  Trier was once an imperial capital in Roman times. In the Middle Ages it was the capital of an independent German state ruled by the Archbishop of Trier that only ended during the Napoleonic occupation.  

These days visitors roam through the medieval cathedral and the old town painstakingly restored after Allied bombing during the Second World War or gaze at spectacular Roman remains like the monumental Porta Nigra gate and a Roman palace that’s now a Protestant church.

But for us Trier is first and foremost the home of Karl Marx. He was born here on 5th May 1818. The city, now under Prussian control, was his home until he moved to continue his studies in Berlin in 1836. 

Marx's birthplace is now the Marx House museum. He spent the first 18 months of his life here. But the rent was too much for his father to bear so the family moved to cheaper rooms above a shop near the Porta Nigra that you can spot if you look out for the plaque on the wall. 

Karl Marx House was a project of the old German Social Democrats (SPD) in the 1920s. They restored the building as a permanent tribute to the man who, together with Frederick Engels, penned the Communist Manifesto and helped launch the First International in 1864. Seized by the Nazis when Hitler came to power in 1933 the house was returned to the SPD in 1947. It is now run by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, a social-democratic political trust with close ties to the modern SPD. This is clearly reflected in the displays which reflect modern European social-democratic thinking rather than that of the world communist movement.

Though there are some personal mementoes from Marx’s life, like his pocket watch and his favourite armchair, the galleries largely focus on Marx’s political career and the working class movements that embraced the banner of scientific socialism during his life-time and right through to the present. 

The SPD was part of the anti-communist West German bourgeois consensus that worked to bring down the old German Democratic Republic in the east. So Marx remains a controversial character in Germany. Neo-Nazis and reactionaries protest at any promotion of Karl Marx. But the city worthies, including the SPD that has a major presence on the Trier council, know the added value of the ‘Marx trail’ to their burgeoning tourist industry.

A giant bronze statue of Karl Marx stands in the heart of town. It was unveiled in 2018 on the 200th anniversary of the great thinker’s birth. It was a gift from People's China created by China's most famous sculptor - Wu Weishan. Some 150,000 Chinese tourists come to Trier to see Marx House every year. They join thousands of other communists and socialists, like us, following Marx’s footsteps in the town of his youth.

Remembering the Korean people’s victory

Dermot Hudson and Song Gi Kim

by New Worker correspondent

London comrades returned to the Chadswell centre in central London last weekend to mark the outbreak of the Korean war. The war began with an American attack on the people’s government in north Korea on 25th June 1950. It ended with the Americans signing a humiliating armistice on 27th July 1953. 
Chaired by Dermot Hudson speakers, including Theo Russell from the NCP, spoke about the Korean people’s heroic fight against the US imperialists and their lackeys during the war and their efforts to reconstruct their shattered country after the guns fell silent.
Though the American terror bombers had left north Korea in ruins, the masses rallied round the call of Kim Il Sung and the Workers’ Party of Korea to rebuild their shattered country and lead the drive for a modern, independent socialist republic in the free part of the Korean peninsula.
Song Gi Kim, a representative from the Democratic Korean (DPRK) embassy in London pointed out that "in 1950 the Korean war, the fiercest war since the Second World War, broke out. At that time no one ever thought that the DPRK, founded two years before, would defeat the United States, which had been boasting of being the "strongest" in the world with a history of victory in 110 wars since its founding.
“As the world media described, the war was a confrontation between the rifle and the atomic bomb. But the result of the war turned out to be the opposite. The DPRK, a small country in the East, created a miracle by defeating the multi-national forces, which pounced upon a country in the name of the United Nations for the first time in the world."
Dermot Hudson, in his speech, said that the great Korean communist leader, Kim Il Sung “not only humbled the pride of the arrogant US imperialists but smashed the reactionary bourgeois military theory that advocates the omnipotence of weapons over humans.
“The US imperialists not only lost huge amounts of manpower and materials but also suffered irretrievable political and moral defeats. It was a great victory for the Korean people and opened up a new era of anti-US, anti-imperialist struggle. Indeed Korea was the war before Vietnam!"
And Theo Russell pointed out that the US "cannot admit responsibility for aggression against DPRK in 1950 because US still dreams of occupying the north... thus entire might of US and Western systems of thought manipulation is mobilised to maintain the lie. And this includes n apparatus of news, well-financed think tanks, universities, mass media, intelligence agencies"

Remembering Michael Collins in London

By New Worker correspondent

Over 100 people turned up to see a new plaque commemorating Michael Collins, the Irish revolutionary, soldier and politician, being unveiled in Islington, north London, last month,
to mark the spot where Michael Collins joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) in 1909.
There was a huge turn out in north London, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as well as the Mayor of the County of Cork Frank O’Flynn, and the deputy Lord Mayor of Cork City Colette Finn. 
Collins spent a third of his life in London, and it was at 2 Barnsbury Road Islington, a minute away from Islington Town Hall and then the site of Barnsbury Hall, that he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1909.
Pictured here after the unveiling are Aengus Connoly O'Malley, a descendant of Collins, Mayor of Islington Gary Heather, and Kaya Comer-Schwartz, leader of Islington Council. The plaque installation was organised organised jointly by the Terence MacSwiney Committee and Islington Council.
Following the unveiling there was a buffet at Islington Town Hall, and a celebration of Collins' life at the London Irish Centre in Camden, will Irish dancing, music, talks and slide shows.

Free the Elbit Six!

by New Worker correspondent

Palestinian solidarity activists gathered outside the High Court in London on Saturday to call for the freedom of Palestine Action prisoners, jailed for taking part in direct action protests against British-Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. People have taken action in the UK, Canada, and France over the jailings. It came after high-profile campaigners, including Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame, issued a joint statement condemning the British state’s persecution of the six people over their activism against the state of Israel.
Since Palestine Action launched in July 2020, their actions have caused severe disruption to Elbit's business, causing the closure of a factory in Oldham, and the Central London HQ.
The state has increasingly become more heavy-handed, six Palestine Action activists are currently in prison, and over a hundred more may face it. The judiciary is also cracking down, refusing bail in some cases, or accepting long established legal precepts, such a defence of necessity, the argument that a small offence is justified to prevent a greater harm from happening. 

No British arms to Ukraine!

by New Worker correspondent

Activists from International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity (IUAFS) gathered opposite Downing Street in London's Whitehall last week to demand an end to British weapons supplies to Ukraine. They carried placards including "No more more British weapons for Ukrainian Nazis!", "No more Challengers -  No more depleted uranium - No more Stormshadows", "No British boots on the ground in Ukraine", and "British troops and Spooks out of Ukraine!". The protest was joined by members of No2NATO - NO2WAR, and the No2NATO banner was displayed alongside the Solidarity with the Anti Fascist Resistance banner and a banner demanding freedom for Ukrainian political prisoners. The protest was covered in a report by the RT News English language Moscow studios, which included contributions from several members of IUAFS. IUAFS has now decided to hold protests in Whitehall on every last Thursday of the month, with the next protest scheduled for 27th July, 6.30-8pm.

Eco-protesters in Westminster

by New Worker correspondent

Just Stop Oil campaigners were in Westminster last week making the case for an end to new oil, gas, and coal projects in the UK.  While one group of student supporters disrupted traffic in Waterloo others defied  draconian bail conditions to hold a protest sit-down picket outside the Houses of Parliament.
Three students defying their bail conditions banning them from ‘protesting without police permission’ for the next three months. The students then sat down on the pavement outside Parliament with placards and gave speeches through a megaphone. 
The repressive bail conditions had been imposed on the three after they were arrested for peacefully sitting outside Total Energies headquarters last week. 27 students were arrested that day, many of whom have had similar bail conditions imposed despite not being charged with any offence.
A Just Stop Oil Spokesperson said: “This criminal government is threatening young people’s lives by encouraging new oil and gas and changing the law at the behest of big oil corporations to ensure that no-one can stop them.” 
“The Met Police’s arbitrary imposition and enforcement of vague bail conditions is part of a campaign of intimidation to silence young people, who have every right to defend themselves against a government that is intent on annihilating their futures. The Police’s failure to arrest these three breaking bail is a tacit acknowledgement that they have overstepped their authority”.

US out of Korea!

 By New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined a Korean solidarity protest picket outside the American embassy in London last Saturday to mark 73rd anniversary of the Korean war and to call for the end of the American occupation of south Korea.
    On 25th June 1950 the US imperialists and their south Korean puppets launched an attack on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) that devastated the entire peninsula. The Americans and their lackeys, flying the false flag of the United Nations, were beaten to a standstill and were forced to sign an armistice in 1953. They promised to hold free elections in south Korea to lead to the reunification of the country. Seventy years later the Americans still occupy south Korea, propping up a puppet regime that rejects all DPRK proposals to ease tension on the divided peninsula.
    Dermot Hudson, the chair of the Korean Friendship Association that called the protest, said that US imperialism had not abandoned its dreams of conquest. “This year reactionary warmonger Biden threatened People's Korea with nuclear annihilation saying it would be the 'end of whatever regime'. The US imperialists and south Korean puppets are stepping up their war moves plus the US is openly deploying strategic nuclear assets,” Dermot said. “The US and south Korea have this year carried out massive war exercises that were suspended by Trump . US troops and nuclear assets should be withdrawn from south Korea and a permanent peace treaty signed”.
    Messages of support were received from KFA Germany, KFA Switzerland, the International Central Committee for Songun Study, the Bangladesh Songun Politics Study Group and the People's Korea Initiative of Poland.

Stop US nukes coming to Lakenheath!

by New Worker correspondent

London comrades travelled to Suffolk last month to join hundreds of other anti-war campaigners outside the Lakenheath airbase in Suffolk on Saturday 20th May. The demonstrators were protesting against the return of US nuclear bombs to UK soil for the first time since 2008.
    RAF Lakenheath is run by the Americans, who have recently added the UK to a list of NATO nuclear weapons storage locations in Europe being upgraded under a multi-million-dollar infrastructure programme. This means that US nuclear weapons will be returning to RAF Lakenheath.
     Cumbria and Lancashire CND spokesperson, Philip Gilligan, who travelled to the protest on Saturday, told the media that: "The last thing the world needs at the moment is an escalation in nuclear sabre rattling. We need to be de-escalating the nuclear rhetoric, not importing more nuclear weapons of mass destruction to our shores. Doing so would not only add further instability to an already very dangerous international situation but would also increase the risks of a nuclear accident on British soil."
    The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, which organised the protest, has condemned the return of US nuclear weapons to Lakenheath and has launched a campaign to stop this extremely dangerous and destabilising development.
    CND General Secretary Kate Hudson said: “The siting of these upgraded guided nuclear bombs at Lakenheath is not just a matter of concern for the people of East Anglia, but for the entire country as it makes Britain a clear target in any nuclear confrontation between Russia and the USA. The aircraft used to deliver these bombs, the F-35, is also a significant polluter to the local area with one tank of fuel emitting the equivalent of 28 metric tons of carbon dioxide. The F-35 programme has also been plagued with technical problems which remain unsolved and pose a serious accident risk. We’re calling on the British government to deny any US request to site B61-12s at Lakenheath and to engage in serious efforts to de-escalate tensions between nuclear-armed states.”
    Dutch peace campaigner Guido van Leemput added that: “A new nuclear arms race is coming. Russia wants to station nuclear weapons in Belarus and the USA is going to deploy its upgraded B61-12 guided nuclear bomb across Europe, at Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands and possibly at Lakenheath. It’s necessary to speak out loudly about the modernisation of nuclear weapons as part of a European-wide voice for peace.”
    CND says: “US nuclear weapons look set to return to RAF Lakenheath, a base in the UK that is run by the US. Their return will only increase global tensions and put Britain on the frontline in a NATO/Russia war.
    “The UK government can stop this from happening. If we show enough public resistance we can press them to reject these plans and prevent these terrible weapons from making us a target.
    “The US Department of Defense has added the UK to a list of NATO nuclear weapons storage locations in Europe being upgraded under a multi-million-dollar infrastructure programme. This means that US nuclear weapons will be coming to RAF Lakenheath.
    “110 nuclear bombs were stored at the airbase but they were removed by 2008 following persistent popular protest. Without public opposition, led by CND, they would still be here today. We stopped these weapons before – will you help us stop them again?”

May Day in London…

by New Worker correspondent

Thousands of trade unionists, socialists, communists and members of the Turkish, Kurdish and other communities living in London gathered in Clerkenwell Green outside Marx House for the start of the annual May Day commemoration. London comrades with the New Communist Party banner, marched alongside Ukraine anti-fascist solidarity supporters through central London for the traditional rally in Trafalgar Square. There they were joined by striking Unite workers who left their picket outside St Thomas’ hospital to join the rally in the afternoon.
     “It’s great to see such a diverse range of people coming together to celebrate our day,” Mick Lynch, the leader of the RMT transport union said at the rally “There’s a lot of talk about a big day coming up,” he said referring to the Coronation. “But this is about our history and our culture: the working people of the world, the people that generate all of the wealth so that these rich people can live on the cream of the world. That’s got to change: that’s what our movement is about”.

Northern Ireland – what next?

John Finucane speaking

by New Worker correspondent

Northern Ireland today – still divided by partition and sectarian division. There’s clearly still a job to do but there’s hope for the future. And at a meeting at the House of Commons in London on 25 April MPs on both sides of the Irish Sea joined in the discussion on the current situation following the historic 1998 Good Friday Agreement (GFA).
    Chaired by the Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh & South Tyrone Michelle Guildernew, the panel included Pat Doherty, who was part of the Sinn Fein (SF) team at the negotiations, John Finucane, SF MP for North Belfast, Helen Jackson, a former Labour MP who was secretary to the late Mo Mowlam during the talks, former TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady, and the actor Adrian Dunbar, star of the TV series Line of Duty.
    Pat Doherty gave a gripping account of the peace talks before 1998, including the two IRA cease-fires, describing the "huge conflicts" between the Unionist parties, and saying that those who didn't join the talks (the Democratic Unionist Party walked out and the Ulster Unionist Party didn't take part) "made a huge strategic blunder".
    Doherty also said the the Women's Coalition, led by Catholic academic Monica McWilliams, "was a breath of fresh air" during the talks.
    Adrian Dunbar reminded the meeting that Belfast still retains a segregated education system, "with millions spent every year bussing children across the city". "The GFA sadly hasn't delivered on an integrated education system".
    John Finucane said it was important "never to underestimate the success of the GFA", pointing to the economic successes in finance technology, cyber security and two Belfast film studios, but condemned the Sunak government for pushing through a new bill "which will undermine the reconciliation process".
    He said "there is still a job of work to do" with major problems with inadequate spending grants from London, in health and job creation.
    Finucane pointed out that For the first time since 1921, Sinn Fein is the largest party" but was unable to govern due to the suspension of the Assembly by the DUP. With the largest number of seats the Sinn Fein president Michelle O'Neill is now in line to be First Minister.
    He also pointed out that the Biden administration has made clear that until London resolves the North-South border situation "there will be no trade deal, and no prime ministerial or state visits" until London resolves the North-South border situation and removes any threat to the GFA.
    Looking to the future, Finucane said "a new Ireland is not about rubbing out the border on the map and saying 'job done', but about equality, parity of esteem, and resolving power sharing".

Abolish the Monarchy Now!

By New Worker correspondent

British republicans have condemned the Metropolitan Police's oppressive treatment of protesters, who had gathered in their thousands in Trafalgar Square to denounce Charles III's coronation as the country's king. The protesters against the antiquated monarchical system said on Sunday that there is now no longer a right to peaceful protest in Britain after dozens of republican demonstrators were arrested.
    Overall, some 64 people were rounded up during the ceremony at Westminster Abbey before King Charles and Queen Camilla were driven back to Buckingham Palace. The police described the alleged offences that had led to the arrests as a breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
    Those detained included Graham Smith, the leader of the Republic movement which campaigns for the abolition of the monarchical system in the United Kingdom and its replacement with a directly elected head of state.
    "This was a heavy-handed action which had the appearance of a pre-determined arrest that would have occurred regardless of the evidence or our actions. The right to protest peacefully in the UK no longer exists," Smith said. "These arrests were not about protecting people from harm, but about protecting the King from embarrassment."
    “I have campaigned on the issue of the monarchy for twenty years,” Smith said. “Time and again I have been told the monarchy protects us from tyranny, that the monarch guards our democracy and freedoms, defending us against the excesses of government. These arrests put the lie to those claims and are another example of the weakness of our constitution and the failure of our constitutional monarchy.
    “The Crown is one part of our failing constitution that concentrates too much power in the hands of government at the expense of parliament and people. We need a fundamental shift in power. We need elected representatives who are able to resist such draconian laws as those introduced this week, and a constitution that empowers the people to defend their rights.
    “These arrests have also destroyed whatever trust might have existed between peaceful protesters and the Metropolitan police. What is the point in being open and candid with the police, working with their liaison officers and meeting senior commanders, if all their promises and undertakings turn out to be a lie?
    “It is notable that King Charles has said nothing about these arrests. Rather than defend our liberty and values he is content celebrating his anointment as monarch while citizens are locked up. What is the point of a head of state who will say nothing and do nothing to defend the people?
    “These arrests were not about protecting people from harm, but about protecting the King from embarrassment. It was the state wanting to stamp down dissent in order to present an image of a grateful and consenting public at the time of the coronation”.
    Trying to explain the reason behind the arrests, the police however, alleged that their so-called duty to prevent disruption outweighed the right to protest.
    Republic said that its members began to be released late on Saturday evening after nearly 16 hours in custody.
    The Metropolitan Police had deployed some 11,500 officers for one of its biggest-ever security operations for the day of the coronation. The police had warned that it would have an "extremely low threshold" for protests, and controversially planned to use mass facial recognition technology to monitor the crowds.
    "Our tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low," the Met warned in the run-up to the coronation. "We will deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining this celebration."
    The Republic movement was set up in 2006 to raise the case for a republic to a wider audience while scrutinising the actions of the royal household. It is strictly non-party political and claims to have over 80,000 supporters.

XR’s “Big One” rocks London

by New Worker correspondent

Tens of thousands of protesters descended on Parliament on Saturday as part of a four-day action, billed “The Big One”, designed to “highlight the environmental failures” of government. Environmental group Extinction Rebellion (XR) kicked off the event on Friday, promising less disruption and more inclusion than the sit-downs and transport disruption that are its usual trademark. This time the climate change campaigners focused on street theatre, open-air debates and forums and protest pickets outside government departments in London “to highlight the environmental and social failures across them all”.
    Saturday’s protest, which coincided with Earth Day, focused on nature and biodiversity. It started from Westminster Abbey with protesters and their children, wearing animal costumes and masks. Many had made banners for the occasion, with one reading: “We defend the climate but police arrest us” and another “Extinction is forever”. Others warned that a third of UK birds were “at risk of extinction”.
Some XR supporters took part in the London Marathon in Sunday while others organised “people’s pickets and forums throughout the heart of the capital.
    They were joined by household names such as top film actor Juliet Stevenson, White Teeth author Zadie Smith, legendary producer and composer, Brian Eno, human rights advocate, Bianca Jagger, and indie band She Drew The Gun. The long weekend of climate change action was also supported by PCS, the main civil service union and a number of leading environmental and social justice movements.