Half of the eligible voters boycotted the elections since they don’t see any use of it, since their will was again violated last February during the coup. Thus, in fact Ukraine has the parliament and president representing actually a part of the country – the fact that inevitably contributes to the escalation of the civil war. The whole election campaign was held in the atmosphere of intimidation and terror of the political opponents, that reminds the elections in Germany 1933 – “free and fair” despite the permanent attacks and terror against the Left, trade-unions and dissenters. The president Poroshenko greeted the results of elections because “at last there will be no more communists in the Parliament”. Actually, there will be no more any kind of Left or at least … [read more]

The quintessence: none of the regional and global players want Kurdish self-rule in Northern Syria to survive! The decisive role is being played by Turkey: In Kobani Ankara got the final say. The Turkish calculus is obvious. If Rojava held on it would serve as a precedence enormously strengthening PKK. The pressure on Ankara to grant substantial autonomy also to its own millions of Kurds would increase massively. The US, on its part, is pushing Turkey, pillar state for the NATO, to join their alliance against the Islamic State (IS) thus defining the Jihadis to be the main enemy in the regional civil war. The US air campaign is turning Asad into the lesser evil potentially upgrading his regime even into a partner. This is, however, unacceptable for Turkey’s ruling AKP. For them … [read more]

1) Iraq: The fox set to keep the geese As a start one needs to look at the results of the American war on Iraq: For two decades Washington starved Iraq by a genocidal embargo in order to suppress the worn-out remnants of formerly proud Arab nationalism. In a certain sense we can read it as the continuation of the US strategy of “dual containment” pitting Iraq and Iran against each other by maintaining the balance in the Golf war from 1980 to 1988 and weakening both. After the end of the war the US continued to keep both states in check. Driven by the hubris of the Neocons in 2003 the US went for “regime change” by direct military invasion. The result so far: their arch enemy Iran has been strengthened enormously and is now wielding decisive influence over Baghdad. This … [read more]

Despite all the attempts to silence Ukrainian neo-fascist and far-right groups, they cannot be hidden or whitewashed totally – the reports about rioting Nazi-ultras, neo-fascist battalions and pro-government far-right gangs in modern Ukraine can be met even in mainstream media. They are too notorious and too noticeable so that to turn a blind eye on their leading role in current Ukrainian crisis. Actually, without virulent neo-Nazis the coup in February and current war in East Ukraine couldn’t happen. Some analysts consider Ukrainian neo-Nazis as mere tools of Ukrainian oligarchs, while the other analysts are more worried and state that neo-Nazis wish to seize all the power and push through their dreams about ‘united white Europe’, uniting with their western colleagues into … [read more]

Left wing activists arrested and tortured in Odessa On the night of Friday, September 12, three left wing activists, members of Borotba, the Communist Party and the Communist Youth, were arrested in Odessa by the Internal Security Service (SBU), under the accusation of terrorism. Those arrested are Vladislav Wojciechowski, a member of Borotba and survivor of the Odessa massacre on May 2nd; Pavel Shishman, a member of the Communist Party of Ukraine; and Nikolay Popov, a member of the Communist Youth. A statement on Borotba’s site gives more details about the arrest of Wojciechowski: “During the search of the apartment where he lived, explosives were planted. Nazi “self-defense” paramilitaries participated in his arrest. Vladislav was beaten, and it is possible that … [read more]

1. Israel’s war targets Israel never clearly stated the aims of its war. Maybe they even did not define them for themselves. In general it was about weakening the resistance and Hamas, riding on a wave of Zionist chauvinism which has taken hold of a sweeping majority in Israeli society. Right from the start the maximum goal, the annihilation of the armed resistance, was unrealistic and therefore not proclaimed. The destruction of several tunnel systems served both as a justification for the assault as well as for its termination. In any case an accurate evaluation of the war’s result needs to take into account its extraordinary asymmetric character. 2. Resistance confirmed Destruction in Gaza is massive. There are thousands of dead and wounded. Human misery is … [read more]

In all countries of the EU and especially in the euro zone, violent anti-social policies are pursued relentlessly by the European Union and its member governments: massive decline in social spending, wage deflation by blocking wages, lower payroll taxes, unjustified subsidies to large corporations supposedly to create jobs, privatization, dismantling of public services and social security, financialization of the economy and public budgets ... The result is an exponential increase in mass unemployment and lack of job security. The origin of this is to be found in the policies of the European Union, fully frozen by the Lisbon Treaty. The latter is based on all the neoliberal dogmas that have already demonstrated their detrimental impact on the interests of the popular and middle … [read more]

At 1.30 A.M on 20 August 2014 approximately 50 Israeli occupying soldiers surrounded Jarrar's home in Ramallah. An Israeli captain then proceeded to hand Jarrar an order which states that Jarrar must not leave the district of Jericho for the next six months and can only leave with the express permission of the Israeli military commander in the West Bank. Accompanying the order was a map outlining the boundaries of Jericho district. The order states, based on secret information, that Jarrar is a threat to the security of the area. She was given 24 hours to leave Ramallah. Jarrar refused to sign the order. Jarrar was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in January 2006 and has continued to serve as an elected representative ever since. She is also the Palestinian … [read more]

Quotes ’our starting point is the fact that until now we have known three forms of state organisation: the nation state, the liberal state and the welfare state. And the question is, what’s next? The Hungarian answer to this question is that the era of the work-based state is approaching. We want to organise a work-based society that, as I have just mentioned, undertakes the odium of stating that it is not liberal in character. [...] societies that are built on the state organisation principle of liberal democracy will probably be incapable of maintaining their global competitiveness in the upcoming decades and will instead probably be scaled down unless they are capable of changing themselves significantly. [...] It is better to acknowledge, even if it is difficult, that the … [read more]

Since the start of E(E)C / EU the monetary union was a paramount goal in this political project of Western European industrial and financial capitalists. However, after the Treaty of Rome was established, there were more primary short-run targets to long for, and the idea of a common currency remained a rather abstract or a rhetorical notion for some time. But even in those times it figured as a darling of conservative ideologues, and of some ambitious politicians, too. Anyway, the Werner- and the Tindemans-report remained dead letter. Helmut Schmidt and V. Giscard d'Estaing personally tried to draft a scheme for a European Monetary System in 1978, but it failed miserably. To use the terms of an old debate in the left movement, we have to revisit imperialism as the nec plus ultra of … [read more]

First of all and prior to proceeding to the main body of this speech I wanted to express the General Secretary’s gratitude for your invitation. Dimitris Kazakis personally and The United People’s Front (EPAM) as a whole are humbled and honored to be invited to become a part of this convention and join forces with likeminded people from all across Europe. Unfortunately, due to Mr. Kazakis’ heavy schedule he wasn’t in a position to actively participate in this convention himself but he wanted to thank you personally for the invitation. One of the most quoted remarks made from Karl Marx is the well known phrase regarding history. Heavily influenced by Hegel’s notion regarding history, Marx in his ‘The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon’ stated that "History repeats ... … [read more]

1) Israel needs to present a success The current attack on Gaza has been growing into an outright showdown to tilt an equilibrium that is no more acceptable to either side. In this extremely asymmetric war one can assume that if the Zionist Goliath does not succeed in substantially weakening Hamas, the battle might turn into an affirmation of the Palestinian David. Israel has been proclaiming the destruction of Hamas, the political and military force dominating the resistance, at least for the past two decades – to no avail. Also this time there is no indication that would suggest such an outcome. The Palestinian resistance has been a world-shaking event ever since serving as an emblem of anti-imperialist popular struggles. This is one of the reasons why the Israeli Army well … [read more]

It’s still time to stop the war Declaration to the Ukrainian and international press from the fact finding mission on behalf of the European Left, the Prague Spring II Network against Right Wing Extremism and Populism, and various networks of the world wide Peace Movement which has gathered recently at the Peace Event Sarajevo 2014 The big misunderstanding between two different sectors of the Ukrainian society is turning into a bloody war of still unknown dimensions. With the purpose of stopping this war immediately a delegation composed of representatives of the above mentioned organizations and initiatives has visited from July 9th to 16th, 2014 Kiew, Charkow, and Donezk in the framework of a political fact finding mission, coming up with the following surprising … [read more]

Following article was kindly translated from Spanish by John Catalinotto of Workers World www.workers.org in New York. We publish it because it plausibly points out that the military takeover of Northern Iraq by ISIS forces is intertwined with a popular rebellion and much broader than the Jihadi phenomenon. We do, however, not share the optimism that Daesh will be expelled as an alien force. Conversely we believe that Jihadism could sink deep popular roots and sectarianism from both sides has infected Iraqi society more than any other Arab country. None of the major forces involved got an instrument against sectarianism. And the Syrian events are showing the predominant dynamics of the region which transformed a supra-confessional democratic popular rebellion into a sectarian … [read more]

1) Not only ISIL Mosul and Tikrit could fall without struggle a) because the Iraqi army was not ready to fight and b) because the local population did not mount any resistance or even supported the insurgency. Otherwise it would be impossible to take such large swaths of land with only several thousands of fighters without heavy equipment. 2) Old resistance and new popular uprising Which forces are involved? Beside the Jihadis there is on one hand the old army and the Baath party. Izzat al Durri, the highest ranking officer of Saddam carrying on, serves as its symbolic figure. He is leading the Naqshbandiya order which serves as an ideological shield bridging the gap between Arab nationalism and Islamism. On the other hand there are tribal structures which have been regaining … [read more]

The following interview with Sergei Kirichuk, leader in exile of Union Borotba (Struggle), was published at www.initiativ-online.org on June 11, 2014. It was translated from German by www.workers.org Workers World managing editor John Catalinotto. Initiativ: How and when was Borotba created? SK: We are a very young, very new organization. We founded Borotba in 2011 as the result of a coalition of various left-wing groups. Some came from Marxist associations; others came from the Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU) and also its youth organization. We are different people with different backgrounds. We have Stalinists, Trotskyists, Maoists and people of other political backgrounds in our organization. We reached a point when we realized that these divisions are no longer as important … [read more]

Despite strong legal grounds for releasing an “infirm” person on bail, under Section 437 of the CrPC despite clear and irrefutable evidence that he is 90% disabled and ill, and that, precisely because of his infirmity, he cannot jump bail, the court has decided he needs to remain arrested and in custody. The full order is not yet available. Today Dr Saibaba has sent a letter from jail stating that he is suffering from “excruciating pains in the joints, legs and vertebra”, that these are “ignored”, and that “no medicine is provided or tests are conducted”. Despite suffering cardiac problems and high blood pressure, “irrelevant medicines are given, like pain killers...which are no use.... BP control medicines...are not given”. When he is medicated it is “without … [read more]

The very course of the election campaign was unprecedented in every conceivable violation of democratic norms. Presidential candidates were beaten and not allowed to campaign. Several candidates withdrew in protest against the farce. In Odessa and other regions, there were documented cases of polling stations being "guarded" by ultra-nationalist units brought from Kiev and western Ukraine. This cannot be called anything but explicit pressure on the voters. In Crimea and the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republic, the so-called elections were not held. In Odessa and Kharkov regions, polling stations were almost empty. Many of those who came to vote spoiled their ballots, writing slogans against the Kiev junta. Nevertheless, the so-called Central Election Commission claimed a turnout … [read more]

The conversation with Haytham was filled with laughter, as he commented on the numbers of voters in Lebanon. He said to Al-Nahar newspaper that the number of Syrians in Lebanon now represents ¼ of the country’s population. Thus they would need 150 polling stations, while today there are two polling stations for women and four for men. Prompted on whether he thought there was a considerable voter turnout in Lebanon, he responded laughing: “what rate?” pointing to visual tricks that can be used to inflate the presence of people on the streets. He also ridiculed numbers stated in various countries such as the Philippine where reportedly 70% of Syrians voted saying that there probably are only 20 Syrians there. In his view, “these elections are for the current authority and … [read more]

Everybody is conscious that the main criterion is the turn-out, as the crowning as such has been decided long before. The regime put it somewhat below 50%, which is not credible given the empty polling stations. In any case no comparison whatsoever with the sprawling elections after the fall of the last Pharaoh. A revealing measure was the sudden prolongation of the referendum for an entire day. The methods employed by the junta are understood at once: Tight media control. Free transportation. Threats of a fine for those not casting their votes – no need to continue this list of techniques of coercion. We should not forget that the coup was extraordinarily bloody killing thousands of protesters, filling once again the prisons and banning any democratic articulation and not only … [read more]