Two similar motions proposed by the comrades of Der Funke, the Marxist tendency in the SPÖ and YS in Austria, have been supported by the Executive Committee of the Socialist Youth of Austria and by the Regional Executive Committee of the Socialdemocratic Party in Vorarlberg. This marks a big step forward for the building of the PTUDC in Austria.
Solidarity with our comrades in Pakistan!
On February 18th in Pakistan the elections to the National Assembly should finally take place. The population see this as a chance to say NO to the military dictatorship and the menace of Islamic fundamentalism.
However, the forces of reaction will not surrender without resistance. This was shown last week with the bomb blast against the candidate of the PPP in Karachi, the well-known trade unionist, Marxist fighter comrade Riaz Lund who played a central role in the struggle against the privatisation of the Karachi steel mills.
We strongly condemn this act of terrorism against comrade Riaz Lund and express our full solidarity with him and with all other activists of the Pakistani labour movement, who are more then ever target of right wing aggressions. We especially want to mention comrade Ali Wazir, who is contesting the elections in Waziristan, a stronghold of the Taliban, and has thad to hold his election campaign from the underground because of constant physical threats by his opponents.
With great hope and anticipation, we follow the activities of the comrades in Pakistan, who are fighting on, even under conditions where their lives are in danger, for a real political change in favour of the toiling masses, the oppressed and the poor. As the comrades point out this change can only come through the socialist transformation in Pakistan and the whole Indian sub-continent.
In the name of the Socialist Youth of Austria we send the comrades from the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) who are standing in the coming elections on a socialist programme, and the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign (PTUDC), our solidarity greetings!
Executive Committee of the Socialist Youth of Austria
Vienna, 20.1.2008
A similar message was passed by the Regional Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party Vorarlberg (Austria), Bregenz, 22.1.2008:
On February 18th in Pakistan the elections to the National Assembly should finally take place. The population see this as a chance to say NO to the military dictatorship and the menace of Islamic fundamentalism.
However, the forces of reaction will not surrender without resistance. This was shown last week with the bomb blast against the candidate of the PPP in Karachi, the well-known trade unionist, Marxist fighter comrade Riaz Lund.
We strongly condemn this act of terrorism against comrade Riaz Lund and express our full solidarity with him and with all other activists of the Pakistani labour movement, who are more then ever target of right wing aggressions. We especially want to mention comrade Ali Wazir, who is contesting the elections in Waziristan, a stronghold of the Taliban, and has thad to hold his election campaign from the underground because of constant physical threats by his opponents.
With great hope and anticipation, we follow the activities of the comrades in Pakistan, who are fighting on, even under conditions where their lives are in danger, for a real political change in favour of the toiling masses, the oppressed and the poor.
In the name of the Socialdemocratic Party of Vorarlberg we send the comrades from the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign (PTUDC), our solidarity greetings!