Mumbai - NAPM statement on the arrest of Medha Patkar and other activists opposing evictions

http://sanhati.com/

May 30, 2012

Statement by National Alliance of People’s Movements

* Medha Patkar and Seven Others Arrested While Opposing Evictions
* Women and Children Beaten and Harassed by Mumbai Police Force
* Demolitions Continue in Sion Koliwada and Ambujwadi and so does Resistance

Mumbai, May 29 : In a brazen violation of the traditional rights of the fisherfolks in Sion Koliwada Mumbai police and BMC has started demolishing homes of the people since morning today. Amid heavy police presence they started demolishing the homes occupied by the Koli community. There has been court cases going against the redevelopment plan which is fraught with corruption and irregularities. False consent has been shown by the community, signatures have been forged of the people, who are not even alive and other such irregularities abound in the project. Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan have been opposing the plans for evictions and demolitions. The development project is being implement by builder Sudhakar Reddy, who is a prominent devotee of Baba Ramdev and are accused of colluding in the illegality along with BMC.

In morning when the demolition squads arrived accompanied by a large police force then residents came out in huge numbers led by Medha Patkar and stood in front of the JCBs and Bulldozers. Police beat up and harassed those resisting demolitions. Male police was involved in beating and molesting women protesters too. As we write this the demolitions continue and so does the resistance from people. Meanwhile, Medha Patkar and seven others have been arrested by the Mumbai police on charges of obstructing public officials.

At this time demolitions are also being fiercely resisted by people in Ambujwadi, Malad where many homes of were demolished earlier as well.

Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan – NAPM have been leading the struggle for a long time now in Mumbai and more specifically in these areas. We are hopeful that the people’s struggle will resist fiercely the land grab by the builders in connivance with the state machinery. We will expose the irregularities as we have done in the case of Adarsh Housing Society, Hiranandani Gardens, Golibar SRA by Shivalik Builders and others.

We condemn the arrests of the activists of the GBGB-NAPM and assault on the people by the police force who have been resisting peacefully the demolitions and striving to save their habitat and home.

Background :

Koliwada, indigenous fisherfolk Community have been living in the area from a long time on this patch of the land. In 1939 Britishers constructed NSP sheds for their own security purposes and they were asked to move to this. These NSP Sheds then were taken over by the Municipal Corporation after Independence. Even though these fisher people have lived on the land for more than a century they have been denied their “right to land”, due to the policies of the Britishers as well as BMC. BMC now in the name of development is evicting them and giving away the prime property to the Builders.

For details and update call : Madhuri Shivkar 09892143242 / Madhuri Variyath 09820619174

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Nepal's Poor Left out of Political Process

http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.in/

No new Constitution in Nepal from the Constituent Assembly and Peoples'Liberation Army disbanded by Prachanda Bhattarai revisionists - who pays the cost - the poor and the landless - the real cost of the Prachanda/Bhattarai betrayal of the revolutionary process in Nepal are the empty promises of Land Reform and Social Security .

Smash Revisionism - rebuild the revolutionary process in Nepal.

Time to recall the land grabbers

http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.in/

An extract from ‘The Great Food Robbery’: Right Livelihood Award 2011 GRAIN’s acceptance speech, 5 December 2011

INTRODUCTION

On 5 December 2011, GRAIN received the 2011 Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’, at the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm. GRAIN was awarded “for its worldwide work to protect the livelihoods and rights of farming communities and to expose the massive purchases of farmland in developing countries by foreign financial interests”. GRAIN seized on the opportunity to demand an immediate end to land grabbing and a restitution of lands to local communities. The following speech was delivered to the Swedish Parliament by GRAIN during the Awards Ceremony.

THE SPEECH

Three weeks ago, on the 16th of November, Cristian Ferreyra was shot dead by two masked men in front of his house and his family. Cristian lived in San Antonio, a village north of Santiago del Estero in Argentina. He was part of an indigenous community and a member of one of our partners, the indigenous peasant organisation MOCASE Via Campesina. His “crime”? To refuse to leave his homeland in order to make way for a massive soybean plantation, one of so many that have been encroaching on rural communities throughout Argen- tina in the last decade. So the plantation owners had him assassinated. Cristian was only 25 years old.

It is right to Rebel against reactionaries - The spirit of 70 year old Mr Zhao

Tony Blair's new scandal

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COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST) CENTRAL COMMITTEE, (dated May 11, 2012): "Chidambaram has no moral right to talk about ‘kidnaps’ by Maoists while incarcerating thousands of Adivasis and agitators in jails"

http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.in/

"The young collectors that Chidambaram is speaking of are implementing the ‘development’ part of the two-pronged strategy and this development leads to nothing but the impoverishment and displacement of the hundreds of thousands of Adivasis and is nothing but the other side of the coin that has repression on one side. And the foreigners he is speaking of were taking objectionable photos of Adivasi women as part of tourism that the Indian state wants to promote at the cost of the dignity of the Adivasi people. There is no need to write much about the ‘elected representatives’ that are part of the rotten parliamentary system reeking of corruption, nepotism and is implementing nothing but anti-people policies as dictated by their imperialist masters. These representatives have done nothing to get the poor Adivasis released from the jails and deliver justice to them in all the years of their tenure. In fact, they are very much part of the implementation of OGH in their areas."

On 9-05-2012 Home Minister P. Chidambaram while replying in Rajya Sabha said – “Maoists ‘kidnapping’ young collectors, elected representatives and foreigners indicates a clear shift in the nature of the Maoist extremism and shows that Maoists are resorting to ‘terror’ tactics to bend the state government to their demands and that Maoists seek to stop development in those districts.” He reiterated his government’s resolve to continue the anti-naxal operations by following a two-pronged strategy of development and security related strategies to face this challenge.

Janet Alder Sister of British Soldier Killed in Police Station - Inspiring Speech from Inspiring Sister

700 in mass arrests at Montreal and Quebec Student Protests - Right to Protest in Danger

Statement from Revolutionary Democratic Front - On banning of Jan Myrdal from visiting India

http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.in/

Picture Jan Myrdal

Contact: revolutionarydemocracy@gmail.com

 24 May 2012

In the latest of its fascist move to strangle all voices of dissent and criticism, the Indian state has decided to ban any future visits of reputed Swedish scholar Jan Myrdal to India, for his support for the people’s movements in India. Recently the Ministry of State for Home Affairs, Jitender Singh made the statement in parliament that any future visit of Jan will be completely banned as he has been found guilty of ‘advising’ the CPI (Maoist) and doing propaganda on their behalf.


Historically, world over, pro-people intellectuals and scholars have always stood by people’s movements for their basic rights. Jan Myrdal too throughout his life has stood steadfast beside anti-imperialist movements and struggles. He led the movement against US war on Vietnam, in Europe and Sweden and has also written prolifically to support people’s movements in Palestine, Afghanistan, China and other places in the world. In India too he has made several visits in the past and has interacted and written about the Indian situation and people’s resistance. In 2010, at the age of 83, he travelled extensively in Dandakaranya, to have a firsthand experience of people’s resistance against the state backed war on people in the name of Operation Green Hunt and also of the larger struggle of adivasis for their land, lives and livelihood. There he also met the top leadership of CPI (Maoist) and interviewed the general secretary of the party.

Precariously employed brothers & sisters in our revolutionary strategy

http://kasamaproject.org/

Posted by kasama on May 23, 2012

Immigrant workers in Lumberton, North Carolina — attending a Catholic Mass animated by demands for legality. Their political struggle for justice created forms of organization and a mood of impatience that gave rise to economic strikes in the area’s plants (not the other way around).

Nat Winn, one of Kasama’s moderators,takes up a key question of our moment: As many people discuss going from resistance to revolution to a new society, what forces in society will form the core force of such a future movement?

by Nat Winn

Revolutionary change calls for strategy. Who should we base a revolutionary movement among? Who are the intermediate allies who might support radical change? What are the necessary types of organization we need and the most effective forms of resistance?

The emergence of mass resistance all over the world since the Arab Spring has brought these questions to the fore for revolutionaries. Things are complicated by a society in great flux. Here in the United States sections of the oppressed have been distanced from production and forced into the illegal economy. Those still employed have had their lives destabilized by things such as the rust belt phenomenon and the pressure to accept lower wages and benefits. Sections of the middle classes (including even many middle level managers in corporations) have felt their lives taken over by workload and insecurity – even when they have not yet literally been pushed down among the oppressed. So who do we look to in the current situation; which forces are our potential revolutionary cores?

With the emergence of the Occupy movement the hope for radical transformation has come alive. Revolutionary minded people are now dealing with the political activity of large sections of people. Many groups both old and new are beginning to think more about revolutionary agency and are provided with the opportunity to put their ideas and summation into practice around a mass movement whose orientation has been at a distance from the state and mainstream electoral politics.

In light of the new situation it is interesting to study and learn from a debate that has broken out within the Occupy movement over the radical agency.  The Oakland-based Bay of Rage blog posted an anonymous article entitled Blockading the Port Is Only The First of Many Last Resorts.  Geoff Bailey and Kyle Browne responded to the Bay of Rage post in “The rise of the ‘precariat’?” in the pages of the Socialist Worker .

While a communist perspective may have some disagreements with theses poles of argumentation – it is valuable that they are grappling with similar questions.

Revolutionary Subject (Some Historical background)

The working class is not some homogenous thing – unchanged by time and conditions. The young, restless, rootless class that first congealed in early factories was sometimes highly radical – but the political openness of different emerging sections of workers changed over decades. This change was marked by struggle over which sections of the oppressed had the most potential for basing a revolutionary movement around it.

Class analysis of Soviet rulers: Socialist in name, capitalist in essence

http://kasamaproject.org/

Posted by kasama on May 25, 2012

What is capitalism? How is socialism actually different? How can we recognize when capitalist society comes at us in “socialist” disguise?

One focus of analysis and debate has always been the Soviet Union — where over seventy years there was close examination of the nature of the USSR, and where those debates had widespread implications politically.

The following article is one of the sharpest arguments made for the view that the Soviet Union came to be dominated by a class that was literally and fully capitalist. It takes the form of a polemic with two scholars (Al Szymanski and David Laibman) who strongly argued that the USSR remained socialist and could not possibly be capitalist.

Even today, a generation after the dissolution of the USSR — this debate remains extremely rich in lessons. The question remains sharply posed about what, after all, is the socialism we are aiming at, and whether to accept (and mythologize) oppressive societies that maintain a fiction of socialist state ownership.

* * * * * * * *

This article  emerged as part of a larger communist theoretical project conducted by Maoists in the early 1980s. And that project still represents, in some important ways, a positive example for the communist theoretical projects that o urgently need to be taken up now.

This essay first appeared in Revolution magazine #52, Summer 1984. (Revolution is a now-defunct political and theoretical journal published by the Revolutionary Communist Party,USA from 1979 until 1994) Revolution #52 contained a number of analytical pieces on the nature of Soviet society.

We have already published on of those Rev52 essays here on Kasama previously: Mike Ely’s “Against lesser evil thesis: Soviet imperialist military doctrine .”

This article was recently made available by Banned Thought. It is also available here on Kasama in printable pdf form.

* * * * * * * *

Notes toward an analysis of the Soviet bourgeoisie

by Lenny Wolff and Aaron Davis

If the Soviet Union is capitalist, then where is the bourgeoisie? The defenders of the Soviet Union constantly return to this question, and use it to argue the nonexistence of any Soviet bourgeois class. Their line of argument proceeds along two interrelated tracks.

Population Control: UK aid funds forced sterilisation of India's poor

The bitch - West Bengal Chief Minister flees audience of Maoist students

We Prisoners at Red Onion State Prison demand!

Posted by Mike E on May 22, 2012

Supporters of the prisoners deliver their 10 Demands to the Virginia prison authorities. We urge more people to raise their voices to support the prisoners and expose their mistreatment.

Prisoners say:

“Regardless of sexual preference, gang affiliation, race and religion, there are only two classes at this prison: the oppressor and the oppressed. We the oppressed are coming together. We’re considered rival gang members, but now we’re coming together as revolutionaries. We’re tired of being treated like animals.”

After attempts to air their grievances through the internal processes of Virginia’s Red Onion State Prison were ignored, prisoners have begun a hunger strike to protest the deplorable conditions in the prison and ongoing abuses by prison staff.

The prisoners have laid out a set of demands which call for an end to indefinite segregation, clean living conditions, healthy, cooked meals, access to medical care, cleaning materials and personal hygiene products, and a clear and transparent process for complaints. They also demand that third-party observers be given access to document prison conditions and that prisoners be informed of the duration and reason for solitary detention.

More can be learned at  the Virginia prison strike blog. To sign a petition of support go here.

10 Demands of the Red Onion State Prison hunger strikers

We (Prisoners at Red Onion State Prison) demand the right to an adequate standard of living while in the custody of the state!

1. We demand fully cooked food, and access to a better quality of fresh fruit and vegetables.  In addition, we demand increased portions on our trays, which allows us to meet our basic nutritional needs as defined by VDOC regulations.

Ports: The New Frontier in the Development War in Odisha

http://sanhati.com/

May 22, 2012

By Ranjana and Nigam

This article investigates an important aspect of the ongoing land grab in the mineral rich areas in Orissa: acquisition of land for Ports. Forcible acquisition of coastal land in Chaumukh, Balasore district, and its implication for the local population and their livelihood are discussed in detail. The particular focus of this report is the Subarnarekha Port at Kirtania, Balasore district, encircled in red in the map above. The Orissa government’s new policy to give rapid clearance to such infrastructural development is analysed and critiqued. A list of ports notified by the government of Orissa, many appearing in the above map, along with names of corporations, is given at the end.– Ed.

Chaumukh, a village visited by continuous depredations of both nature and human beings for the last 60 years so, is as if, on the run always.

Andher Nagri Chaupat Raja - A PUCL Report on the Fire that Destroyed Sumit Chemicals, a Chemical Factory in Kanpur

http://sanhati.com/

May 22, 2012

 

The following article reports on an incident in which a fire completely destroyed a chemical factory in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The investigation reveals a tale of criminal neglect of factory laws, collusion between local officials and industrialists, and incredibly callous attitude towards the factory workers. Two and half months after the accident, the factory management is yet to release the full list of workers inside the factory at the time of the accident. This report forms a part of the flow of reports emanating from the ground (for example from Gurgaon), describing the brutal conditions under which the working class is forced to work by middle capital in India today. - Ed.

In the early hours of 17^th January 2012 a major fire broke out in Sumit Chemicals Private Ltd, a chemical factory situated in the Panki Industrial area of Kanpur. Over 19 fire tenders were pressed in service to douse the flames, and yet it took around two days to completely extinguish the fire. The five-storey high factory premises were completely gutted by the massive fire destroying everything – plant, machinery and people. It may be possible to get a near accurate account of material losses in the incident, but even over two and a half months later there is no reliable estimate available regarding the loss of lives on that fateful night. The following is an account of the incident which we could piece together from various sources followed by the official responses of the various authorities entrusted to investigate into the incident and take adequate actions against responsible individuals.

The Incident[1]

The manufacturing unit of Sumit Chemicals Private Ltd. (SCPL) is situated in the Uptron Industrial Estate in Panki Kanpur. The Panki industrial zone houses hundreds of manufacturing units and employs over a lakh workers. The typical premise of the industrial estate includes a high boundary wall, with a formidable front entrance and back to back and wall to wall construction with almost no space between two units. The unit premises have only a numerical address and no other identifying feature – there are no name plates, company symbol, emblem, etc. The SCPL factory was 5 storied and had only one entrance to the front. The stairs leading to the upper floors are barely a couple of feet wide and are not amenable for quick access in case of emergencies. The Delhi Howrah train track runs at the back of the factory barely a few feet away. The plant had permission to employ 50 workers but the estimates of the actual number of workers employed range from 60-70 to 250. At the time of the fire the plant was working on its night shift and according to eye-witness accounts there were around 30-35 cycles parked in the cycle stand. 

Update on POSCO struggle

http://sanhati.com/

May 22, 2012

On May 16th 2012, when Odisha Chief Minister Nabin Pattnaik was meeting the CMD of the controversial POSCO project defying the people’s mandate against the steel project more than 2000 people made a huge protest rally at Govindpur village opposing the undemocratic, unjust and uncalled for move of the Chief Minister to entertain POSCO India CMD Yong Won Yoon. We once gain made our voice loud and clear and our people once again strongly resolved that we would not allow the government to acquire agricultural land for POSCO.

We strongly condemn unfair deal between the Odisha government and POSCO-India on 16th of May to set up an 8 MTPA Greenfield steel plant by downsizing the earlier plan of establishing a 12 MTPA facility. This reflects the Patnaik government’s total contempt for democracy and democratic dissent by masses on a crucial issue affecting their land, life and livelihood. The Chief Minster does not have time to discuss with his own people who are in distress but can afford the luxury of entertaining foreign representatives to give away rich land and resources at the cost of the peace and prosperity of people of the land. He is yet to visit the area ever since the black MOU was signed with POSCO on 22nd June 2005. Instead of scrapping the ecologically destructive projects, the chief minister is trying to slap us on our face by announcing that POSCO is going to set up a training centre at Ersama for imparting skill education for the local youths in the name of corporate social responsibility. We know very well POSCO and the state government are trying to hoodwink the people into believing that the company will provide jobs to the local people.

KOE: For a different Greece in a different Europe

http://kasamaproject.org/

Posted by Mike E on May 21, 2012

In a deep and deepening political crisis, how do revolutionary forces decide where to take their stand, and what slogans to seek to mobilize millions around. How does a Maoist mass line function when communist forces are suddenly speaking to and for whole sections of the people.

Throughout most of its political life, the KOE (Communist Organization of Greece) has militantly called for leaving the European Union and the Euro zone — transnational structures which were seen to serve the great powers and German imperialism in particular. Now, in the midst of great demands for a cruel austerity, the German chancellor Merkel has floated out that perhaps German imperialism wants to force Greece out of the Euro zone — and threatens that such an expulsion may serve as punishment for the people of Greece who are so militantly against the Troika demands.

In such a context, two things have happened: First, the KOE has not included their long-standing demands against Euro Zone in their current immediate demands. And second, the reactionary forces have launched a massive smear campaign — arguing that if the radical left SYRIZA coalition wants to be considered “responsible” it has to expel the KOE which is so closely associated with anti-Euro politics. So here we are in the real life politics of a system-wide political and economic crisis.

It is in that context that the following press release from KOE is particularly interesting: It is their response to an escalating smear campaign that seeks to divide the people’s movement by demanding that SYRIZA expel its most revolutionary forces.

(The following translation was done into English by Kasama . Any errors are ours alone.)

Communique by the Press Bureau of the KOE (Issued: Athens 5/21/2012)

A Different Greece in a Different Europe

1) the Communist Organization o fGreece (KOE) currently finds itself a the epicenter of an organized attack. It is an attack intended to strike at SYRIZA, the Coalition of the Radical Left, within which our organization has been such an integral part. These last days, the political centers of the system (including the main conservative party, New Democracy, and their instruments at the highest levels of the media) have been displaying old posters of the KOE all over the TV and print news. These posters opposed the European Union – and those reproducing these posters in the media are declaring, like prosecutors of some monarchy, that it proves that our positions must be condemned by SYRIZA and we should be excluded from “the body politic.”

Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh leader says fight for tribal rights to intensify

http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.in/

Picture: Nachika Linga

The quasi-political organisation, Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh, operating in Odisha’s Koraput and Malkangiri districts, has often been described as the frontal wing of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee of Maoists. The organisation has been in the news since the abduction of Jhina Hikaka in March. It was alleged that the abduction was the result of a deal going sour between the BJD and the Sangh. Speaking to The Telegraph from a secret location in Narayanpatna, Sangh leader Nachika Linga maintained that the deal had taken place.

lIs it true that the Sangh is a frontal organisation of the Maoists?

We fight for the tribal rights and have nothing to do with the Maoists. Our mission is to destroy all the illegal manufacturing units of country liquor operating at our villages and give the land that the government has forcefully taken away from the tribal community back to them.

lBut why did the Maoists demand release of the Sangh members while they were negotiating with the government on Hikaka’s release?

The Maoists support our work for the tribals. They also feel that the Sangh members, who have been arrested, are innocent.

lWhat is your fight with the government about?

We want the government to give back the land taken away from the tribal people. Plus, the government should address basic problems, such as lack of irrigation facilities and healthcare centres and scarcity of teachers in schools. There is no anganwadi centre operating in Narayanpatna. Around 84 per cent people live below poverty line in Koraput. It’s been more than 60 years since we got Independence, but the government has paid no heed to our basic needs.

lYou are on the “most wanted” list of the state police. There are over 60 cases against you ranging from murder to waging war against the state.

These are false allegations. The government should set up an inquiry commission on this before issuing arrest warrants against me.

lDid you have an agreement with the BJD in which you said you would help the party win the Koraput zilla parishad’s presidential post if it agreed to your demands?

Yes that was the deal. MLAs, including Jayaram Pangi and Jhina Hikaka, signed it.

lWhat were the demands?

We wanted the government to remove all criminal charges against our members, who were earlier acquitted by the judiciary. Plus, we asked for an independent inquiry into the Narayanpatna police firing that took place in November 2009, in which our comrades Andru and Singhana were killed. We also asked for prohibition of liquor at our villages and all-around development. But, none of our demands has been met so far. Hikaka did not speak to chief minister Naveen Patnaik about our demands.

lThe Maoists took a written undertaking from Hikaka that he would resign as an MLA after his release. But, he hasn’t resigned yet. Does that mean he may be abducted again?

The Maoists released Hikaka because he was a tribal. Since Hikaka hasn’t kept his word, there is a possibility that he may be abducted again. He should now severe ties with his party and work for the people, especially for those in the most backward blocks — Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon.

lWhat is your support base? And what is your next course of action?

We have over 35,000 members. Our fight against the government will intensify in the coming months. We are planning to form a parallel governance system with the help of villagers to take care of our needs. Also, our uncontested elected leader, Juro Mauka, in the Koraput zilla parishad would ensure that welfare schemes reach our villagers.

Source: Telegraph - Calcutta

Naxalbari, a Village Remembered by Dr. Amitabh Mitra plus Naxalite by Asian Dub Foundation

Naxalbari, a Village Remembered by Dr. Amitabh Mitra plus Naxalite by Asian Dub Foundation

Most dangerous is that watch
Which runs on your wrist
But stands still for your eyes.
Most dangerous is that eye
Which sees all but remains frostlike,
Most dangerous is the moon
Which rises in the numb yard
After each murder,
But does not pierce your eyes like hot chilies. '

Paash, A Naxalite Poet

During the summer holidays in Gwalior, we all went to my grandmother home in Shibpur in Howrah to escape the extreme heat of Madhya Pradesh. During one such visit, we found the walls of her house and adjoining houses plastered in red with slogans, 'Naxalbari Laal Saalam'. As a young boy unaware of the politics of that time in Bengal, I had frequently asked my father and uncles about the slogans and graffiti which they always declined to explain.

Nobody had the courage to wash those walls. Many years later, North East India became my favorite tramping grounds and driving long distances through little hamlets on my way to Bhutan or Along was more frequent. Visiting Naxalbari became a reality during that time. But the explosive ingredients had long fizzled off and Naxalbari I found to my great disappointment just a small village like any other village in the Darjeeling district. The ghosts of Naxalbari could not be suppressed and curiosity brings thousands of people like me just to feel the soil or try to find a tiny ember of a revolution within the tea plantations and villages of that area. The Mechi River lies close to it and across it lies Nepal. Farm lands, tea estates and forests dot this fertile geographical part of Darjeeling district. The large villages in the region are Buraganj, Hatighisha, Phansidewa and Naxalbari. It all started in May 23 1967. The landless and poor peasants of Jharugaon village raised their bow and arrows.

Mitra Quayoom Afghans for Peace No to Nato Don't Attack Iran Troops Out London Solidarity with Chicago Demonstrators London 19 05 12

"No NATO, No War": U.S. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Return War Medals at NATO Summit

Democracy Now! National and Global News Headlines for Monday, May 21

Nepal: Gajurel says constitution already drafted in India

http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/

Posted by hetty7 on May 19, 2012

UCPN(M) secretary CP Gajurel

This article is from My Republica

Gajurel  – Govt Conspiring to Bring Sponsored Constitution

Republica

Kathmandu, May 12: UCPN (Maoist) Secretary CP Gajurel  claimed on Saturday that the government and major political parties were creating an environment to impose state of emergency  for what he called promulgating a ‘sponsored constitution’.

Addressing a program organized to launch a book ‘Nepali Janayudhha’ (People’s War) authored by Dr. Rishi  Raj Baral at the factional headquarters of Maoist party’s Senior vice-chairman Mohan Baidya in Kupandole, Gajurel said in a veiled language that the new constitution has already been drafted in India.

West Bengal Chief Minister flees audience of Maoist students

Posted by Mike E on May 19, 2012
http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/

Israeli Police Target Activists as Social Protests Restart

Obama Signs 10 More Afghan Years

Crimes of NATO: Network of killers and empire-builders

http://kasamaproject.org/

Posted by Mike E on May 15, 2012

Children killed by US/NATO invasion forces in Afghanistan

The following appeared first on Counterpunch.

A Global Crime Spree

What’s NATO Ever Done?

by JOHN LaFORGE

Wondering why anyone would confront NATO’s summit in Chicago this month? A look at some of its more well-known crimes might spark some indignation.

Desecration of corpses, indiscriminate attacks, bombing of allied troops, torture of prisoners and unaccountable drone war are a few of NATO’s outrages in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Yemen and elsewhere. On March 20, 2012 Pakistani lawmakers demanded an end to all NATO/CIA drone strikes against their territory. As reported in The New York Times, Pakistan’s foreign secretary Jalil Jilani said April 26, 2012, “We consider drones illegal, counter-productive and accordingly, unacceptable.” On May 31 last year, Afghan President Hamid Karzai gave what he called his “last” warning against NATO’s bombing of Afghani homes, saying “If they continue their attacks on our houses … history shows what Afghans do with trespassers and with occupiers.”

The ruling classes tremble: Maoists expand influence in Northeast India

http://southasiarev.wordpress.com/

Posted by redpines on May 15, 2012

Location of Assam within India

The following article about the expanding operations of the CPI(Maoist) into northeast India originally appeared at A critique of the times. 

The Northeast is in danger of becoming the next Maoist hub

January 15 2012

Reports of Maoists mobilising people against dams in Arunachal Pradesh, shortly after Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had warned about ultra-Left presence in Assam, can only mean that policymakers both in New Delhi and the North-East can no longer ignore the presence of the Reds in the region. The situation in the state is increasingly worrying, especially now that captured Maoist members have reportedly confessed links to elements in the North-East.

Did Trayvon fight for his life? If so, good!

http://kasamaproject.org/

Posted by Mike E on May 15, 2012

Hiller Armament Company is selling these paper targets for training ranges.

An avalanche of smug racism has embraced the claims that Zimmerman had cuts and a broken nose.

So what? Zimmerman hunted a young Black man, like Trayvon Martin was an animal.

If Trayvon landed a punch, before Zimmerman murdered him, well, good for Trayvon.

There is a lot of talk about “let the system do its work.” Well, we have no choice — this system will do its thing.

This system did its thing when the racist Zimmerman was allowed to organize a racist “community watch.” It was doing its thing when Trayvon Martin was pursued, confronted and shot. It was doing its thing when the local police chief and other brass showed up over Travon’s body, to help protect Zimmerman the judge’s son, to accept his story, to let him go home unarrested.

NATO in Chicago May 20-21: War Criminals Summit

http://revcom.us/

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is holding a “heads of state” summit in Chicago on May 20 and 21. About 50 countries that are members of and allied with NATO are sending their political leadership to this summit.
NATO presents itself, and is portrayed in the major media of this country and countries it is allied with, as a force for “humanitarian interests.” On its website, NATO claims to be a “leading contributor to peace and security on the international stage.” This benign self image is a vicious lie and masquerade that influences the thinking of far too many people in the U.S. and around the world.

Chicago Gears Up for NATO Summit: This is What a Police State Looks Like

http://revcom.us/

For many months leading up to the May 20-21 NATO Summit, Chicago news has been filled with stories about new laws passed, new police equipment obtained, and military training exercises conducted. These NATO Summit "security" measures are part of a many-sided militarization of society. This includes creating a security state atmosphere which is meant to be threatening to potential protesters and the broader public while at the same time it covers over that this is a summit of war criminals. The buildup to the NATO Summit, as well as the G8 (Group of 8) Summit initially scheduled for Chicago then abruptly moved to Camp David, Virginia, has occurred at the same time as atrocity after atrocity carried out by U.S.-NATO forces in Afghanistan have come to light, and when NATO's military role in the world is escalating with the intervention in Libya and threatened interventions in Iran and Syria.

June 5: A Day of Justice for Trayvon!

http://revcom.us/

June 5 will be 100 days since George Zimmerman, a vigilante, wannabe cop murdered Trayvon Martin. 100 days since Zimmerman racially profiled Trayvon, stalked him and gunned him down. Now we are being told that it’s time for us to get out of the streets and let the justice system work. This is BS! The system was working when it let Trayvon’s murderer go free. It took weeks of people all over the country taking to the streets in outrage to force the authorities to arrest Zimmerman and charge him for murdering Trayvon.
People need to stay in the streets demanding justice for Trayvon. It will take continued mass resistance to have any chance to get justice in this case.

On the fake encounter of four alleged Maoist cadres in Assam

http://sanhati.com/

May 12, 2012
Condemn the fake encounter of four alleged Maoist cadres in Assam by the Indian Army, CRPF, and the Police !
Demand an impartial enquiry into the incident and punishment for the personnel guilty of perpetrating this cold-blooded murder !
11.05.2012
RDF strongly condemns the cold-blooded murder of four alleged Maoist activists in Sadiya of Tinsukia district, Assam. The Assam government has claimed that a joint team of Assam Police, CRPF and Indian Army killed four armed cadres of the Upper Assam Leading Committee of CPI (Maoist) in a `fierce gun-battle’ at around 10.30 a.m. on 9 May 2012 at Borgora-Deopani Nepali Gaon under the Saidya police station.

Nurses of Faridabad on the warpath

May 11, 2012
Joint Press Statement of the Delhi Nurses Welfare Association, Workers Unity Centre, and the Centre for Struggling Women
NURSES OF FARIDABAD ON WAR PATH
RAMPANT EXPOITATION OF MALYALI NURSES
PRIVATE HOSPITALS INDULGE IN A RANGE OF ILLEGAL PRACTICES
10.05.2012
Following a 14 day strike notice, 300 nurses of Asian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Faridabad, have been sitting on strike since 7th May. Down the road, 140 nurses of another private hospital, QRG Central Hospital, are also on strike. The majority of these nurses are from far flung parts of Kerela, and have joined the super-speciality hospital in the hope of earning salaries that will help them survive in the city, and also assist in paying back education loans they have taken to pursue their nursing degrees. Unfortunately, like other private hospitals, Asian Hospital and QRG Central are misusing the nurses’ compulsion to pay off student loans to employ them on the basis of extremely low wages.

Israeli False Flag Revealed

CPI Maoist Statement -“Observe ‘Bharat Bandh’ on 16 May against the proposed fascist NCTC, against continued assaults on the people by the government armed forces under Operation Green Hunt and against the deployment of Indian Army in Bastar!”

Communist Party of India (Maoist) — Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee: Press Release (4 May 212) “Observe ‘Bharat Bandh’ on 16 May against the proposed fascist NCTC, against continued assaults on the people by the government armed forces under Operation Green Hunt and against the deployment of Indian Army in Bastar!”

The Indian state is relentlessly continuing its extremely brutal attacks on the people of the country, particularly the adivasis, in the last two and half years in the name of Operation Green Hunt. The police and paramilitary forces unleashed by the ruling classes are perpetrating acts of ‘encounter’ killings, mass murders, sexual assault, torture, burning of villages, destruction of crops and grains, plunder of peoples’ property, wanton arrests and forced ‘disappearances etc.

Why is Fox so-called News Supporting the Christian Taliban?

Communist Organization of Greece: First comments after the election

http://kasamaproject.org/

Posted by kasama on May 7, 2012

 

Athens, May 7, 2012. From the KOE.:
These first comments are based on the exit polls after the closing of the voting in Greece. The official results will be known later.
According to the exit polls, the two “big” bourgeois parties lost more than half of the votes they had gotten in 2009. From the 80%  they had together in the last elections, they now  total less than 40%.
The Coalition of Radical Left – SYRIZA — is the big winner, winning the 2nd place (from 4.7% in 2009,  SYRIZA now got, according to the exit polls, from 15% to 17.5% of the popular vote!).
We will send you more detailed results later.
Here are those first comments:
1. The Greek people have spoken. In fact, the Greek people have been speaking for two  years now, but those “above” were not listening.
Today the Greek people have swept the pro-troika (IMF-EU-ECB) political forces and have triggered an earthquake that makes the political system tremble. Our people have sent a  thunderous message to the troika.
2. The path towards a different type of  representation, a different political system, the path towards real democracy and a radical political transition, now gets open.
3. The people put our country on a course to a way out, leaving behind (and punishing) all those who have been managing Greece these last two years and imposing a regime of social destruction.
4. The great protagonists of this day, that is, the Greek people and the popular movement (which in great extent found
expression in SYRIZA –Coalition of Radical Left) today shoulder a huge task: to turn this way out into a reality.
[Note: Kasama has made minor corrections to the translation from Greek.]

Chidambaram biggest murderer of democracy: Swami Agnivesh

http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.in/

By Sarwar Kashani

Saying the government has "done nothing" to address the rights of poor tribals, noted social activist and former peace negotiator Swami Agnivesh blames Home Minister P Chidambaram, whom he calls the "biggest murderer of democracy", for the spurt in violence and abductions by Maoists. "The government has done nothing to address the issues of rights of poor tribals peacefully and lawfully.

I feel disappointed. I doubt Chidambaram's intentions, if he is really serious in ending the problem as he claims," Agnivesh said in an interview.

The saffron-clad activist, who in 2010 was appointed by the government as an interlocutor for the now-broken down peace talks with Maoists, said the recent spurt in abductions and violent incidents was "only due to the government's non-seriousness" in resolving the issue. Left-wing extremists in Odisha kidnapped two Italians in March, released one after 11 days and the second almost a month later.

Another Maoist group abducted March 24 Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) legislator who was also released later. Alex Paul Menon, the 32-year-old collector of Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, was taken into captivity from the Manjhipara area. He was also released later after Chief Minister Raman Singh agreed to appoint a high-power committee to look into Maoist demands.

Insurgents had demanded release of their cadres from jails but none was set free with the government claiming that they were looking into the demand. Agnivesh doesn't call it the defeat of Maoists. "They never intended to kill them. It is for you to decide if it is their defeat or greatness." Asked if he was justifying abduction or killing people by Maoists, the activist said nobody endorses violence. "I condemn every incident of violence, be it killing or kidnapping.

But you should also look at what is happening to impoverished tribals. Some 1,700 of them are in jails without any charges." Agnivesh expressed his "utter disgust" over the widespread "military operations" in Maoist-infested areas in the name of security. "This operation Green Hunt... it is a military operation, but the real intent is to grab the natural resources and distribute them to a few corporate houses," he said, alleging that Chidambaram was in "cohort" with business people who want to "loot the resources from mineral-rich parts of east and central India". "Chidambaram is more violent than Maoists.

He is the biggest murderer of democracy," said Agnivesh, recalling how top Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad was "killed in a cold- blooded murder". Agnivesh had started talks with Azad in May 2010 and had sought his consent to initiate a dialogue with the government. But just when the process was to kick off Azad was gunned down in a shootout with Andhra Pradesh police that was alleged to be staged. But the government denies this.

"He was shot at in point-blank range. Encounters don't happen at such a short distance," Agnivesh said. His petition for an independent judicial probe was rejected by the Supreme Court recently but the activist has not given up. "We will travel through the country and tell the people the truth. We will mobilize youth and expose this government of corrupt people who serve interests of none but business houses."

Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_chidambaram-biggest-murderer-of-democracy-swami-agnivesh_1685559

The Paradox of President Putin

A great victory for the people of Himachal Pradesh

http://sanhati.com/

May 7, 2012

Statement issued by Himalaya Niti Abhiyan

JP Associates’ Bageri thermal power plant in Nalagarh district has been cancelled by the High Court of Himachal Pradesh. The HC has given strict orders to JP Associates for violating all norms.

The Bageri thermal power plant will be dismantled in three months time. JP Associates was asked to deposit 25% of the total project cost as a penalty or approximately Rs 100 crore. The transfer of common lands to JP Associates was deemed illegal and cancelled.

The cement plant and grinding unit adjacent to the thermal plant were also given notice that if these remain non-compliant, then action can be taken by the HC in these cases also.

4 May 2012