Asia

Under the slogan “Only the class struggle can decisively defeat the madness of fundamentalist terrorism and imperialist barbarism”, about 150 trade union workers, students, PPP workers and women attended a meeting organised by the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign (www.ptudc.org) in Multan, Southern Punjab.

Alan Woods reports from Russia on the developments during the first week of the war on Afghanistan and particularly the way in which Russia is advancing her interests in the whole of Central Asia and the Caucasus on the back of the 'war on terrorism'. Woods also outlines the difficulties which the US will increasingly find in this campaign.

The Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign (PTUDC) have launched their own web site. The PTUDC has been campaigning for the defence of trade union rights in Pakistan for a number of years. Now the situation has become even more complicated with the war against Afghanistan. The PTUDC has condemned terrorism, but is also actively campaigning against the war inside Pakistan itself. Thus they face the wrath of both the state authorities and the Islamic fundamentalists. They need your help in their campaigning work. You can help by publicising their material and by going to ...

"In the first decade of “the end of history” and the “new world order” the “only super power” in the world is yet again engaged in another major war of aggression. As the missiles and bombs of the imperialist assault devastate the already ruined and rugged landscape of this unfortunate country, its impact will go far beyond the borders of Afghanistan. The echelons of power and the regimes across Asia are trembling in their shoes. These already decaying states are being shaken to their foundations. Starting from the Pakistan dictatorship the rulers of the whole region terrified about the fate of their rule." Editorial of the Autumn...

K.A.Khan Kashmari, the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign organiser in Quetta reports on the demonstrations and clashes against US aggression in Afghanistan and the general mood of the workers there.

As the war starts in Afghanistan we publish this report from the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign dealing with the situation of the trade unions in Pakistan. The PTUDC is campaigning for workers' rights and both against Islamic fundamentalism and US imperialism. The statement is signed by 35 leading trade union activists from all over the country and contains an appeal for help and solidarity. The In Defence of Marxism web site endorses this appeal and asks all its supporters to make a financial donation

"The bombing of Afghanistan has now begun. The most powerful and richest country in the world, the USA, is bombing one of the poorest countries on this planet. And Britain, as usual, is behaving as an obedient lapdog to US imperialism. However they may try to disguise it, this war is not about “justice” or “fighting terrorism”. The aim is to terrorise the peoples of the former colonial countries, to bully them into submitting to the will of the rich and powerful. It is a warning: 'either you do as we say, or you get bombed!'". A first emergency analysis by Fred Weston.

Everything on a world scale is now subordinated to the perspective of war. The fact that the attack on Afghanistan (and other countries) has been delayed does not mean at all that the risk of hostilities has diminished. Alan Woods looks at the world situation as the build up towards war unfolds.

Three public meetings were recently organised by the PTUDC in Pakistan to protest the impending Imperialist attack on Pakistan and the terrorism perpetrated by the Islamic fundamentalist organisations. They were held in in Hyderabad, Thatta and at the Pakistan Steel Mills near Karachi. The meetings were attended by hundreds of workers who resolved to launch an anti-war campaign throughout the country and also made an appeal to workers in Europe for support.

 Three public meetings were recently organised by the PTUDC to protest the impending Imperialist attack on Pakistan and the terrorism perpetrated by the Islamic fundamentalist organisations. The first Meeting was held in the main city hall in Hyderabad, the main city of Sindh. More than three hundred people attended the meeting. They were mainly students from the three main universities of Sindh. The meeting was presided by the veteran left intellectual from Sindh, Comrade Ibrahim Joyo. The main speakers were Mohammad Khan Ahmadani, Chairman of the PTUDC, Sindh, and the editor of the Sindhi Marxist Paper ‘Class Struggle’ and Lal Khan the editor of the Asian Marxist Review. The

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"Many people have been shocked at the media pictures of the unfolding tragedy in Afghanistan. The Taliban regime has carried out a reign of terror, with ethnic cleansing... severe repression against oppressed nationalities and members of other religions, the smashing of statues of Buddha, the public execution of women in Kandhar the whipping... The howling of the oppressed women of Afghanistan reverberates throughout Asia. The question is: who is responsible for this bloody civil war, all these deaths, the hunger, ethnic cleansing and sheer barbarism? The answer is very simple. It was American imperialism which reduced Afghanistan to the level of the Dark Ages and completely destroyed

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The first reports have started to arrive about the actions taken all over the world during the Free Satish Kumar International Day of Action. The campaign for the release of Satish Kumar, however must be stepped up. Check out the details of what you can do to help.

"The dark clouds of war and destruction loom large over Afghanistan and Pakistan. As time clicks away the atmosphere of speculation, uncertainty, confusion and deep fear grips these impoverished societies. The threat of Imperialist aggression in the aftermath of the attacks in New York and Washington is dangling like a sword over the heads of the people." Lal Khan, editor of the Marxist paper Jeddo Judh (Class Struggle) in Pakistan, explains the background to the coming to power of the Taliban, their relationship with the Western oil companies, who is Osama Bin laden and finally reports on the mood in Pakistan...

"Pluto Press have recently published a new book, Reaping the Whirlwind, The Taliban Movement in Afghanistan, by Michael Griffin. He has done a service in providing some quite detailed information about the origins of the Taliban and the background that led to their emerging as a force capable of taking control of most of modern-day Afghanistan."