Asia

A countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal (Generel Strike) called by the left to protest against the government's certain wrongdoing and US war preparation against Iraq passed off by and large peacefully today Monday, March 10, in Bangladesh.

We have received this report from the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign (PTUDC) on the terrible conditions faced by one of the most downtrodden sectors, the agricultural labourers. The PTUDC is taking a courageous stand in their campaign to organise them into a union.

The demonstrations organized by YFIS in Lahore received full coverage from all the main Pakistani daily papers and TV, such as the Jang, the Nation, and the Dawn (the largest circulation English speaking daily). We will keep you informed as more reports come in.

As the shadow of war looms large over the horizon, the attacks on workers have further intensified in Pakistan. With the pretext of “war against terror” the Musharraf regime has been implementing the IMF and World Bank policies of privatisation, deregulation, liberalization and downsizing. These policies have had a devastating effect upon the already impoverished working people of Pakistan and here, as in so many other countries the “war against terror” has in reality been a “war against the people”.

Pakistan is in a critical condition at the current time, it is engulfed in a social, economic and international crisis. In an attempt to escape from this crisis, General Musharaff held elections for parliament at the end of last year. In spite of all the hopes of Musharaff the elections have not created any strong government. His “democracy” is a sham. Musharaff has reserved the right to amend any law passed by parliament. He even has the right to amend the constitution. One man can override the whole of the elected parliament. But behind the political crisis lies the social and economic crisis that the country faces.

In January Wang Fanxi died in Leeds, England. He was one of the few remaining links to the early Chinese Trotskyist movement. It was after the defeat of the 1926 Chinese revolution that, together with hundreds of other members of the Chinese Communist Party, he began to question the policies of the leadership and joined Trotsky’s Left Opposition.

The PTUDC in Britain organised a speaking tour throughout January. The tour was designed to build the profile of the campaign in this country, to establish points of support in the labour movement, and to collect financial donations for the campaign. The tour involved meetings and discussions with leading figures and bodies of the labour movement, meetings with individual trade union branches, and regional public meetings to attract broader layers of workers and establish support in Britain's Asian communities. Lal Khan, PTUDC International Secretary, and Manzoor Ahmed, the recently elected Marxist PPP MP, spoke at many trade union meetings around the country.

The PTUDC in Britain has organised a speaking tour, which has been ongoing throughout January. This is a report of the first stage of the tour and details of forthcoming public meetings with the Pakistani Marxist MP Manzoor Ahmed.

Mass strikes of public transportation drivers started on Monday, January 6, in a number of Indonesian cities. Street protests continue against the IMF sponsored cuts in subsidies which have provoked a price hike. Although still relatively small these protests could become more massive in the coming days. Particularly important is the call for a nation-wide strike for Thursday January 9 (today) by a front of 23 different trade unions which could halt industry in many parts of the country.

In the last fifteen years the Philippines have seen several mass movements that could have led to the overthrow of capitalism. Unfortunately for a long period the Stalinist theory of two stages (first the democratic, then later the socialist revolution) has led to the derailment of the movement. Now we are moving to a new phase of struggle. This time genuine Marxism has a chance to make its voice heard among the Filipino working class and youth.