People Before Profit blog

Unions to Colombia: Stop murdering labor activists

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:33:00 +0000

Yessica Hoyos could be your neighbor. A young woman with a presence that lights up a room, she could be the woman organizing your next block party or running for office.

But Yessica Hoyos is from Colombia, where workers and union members are murdered with impunity. Her father, a trade union activist and leader, was killed in 2001.

Now this young lawyer has devoted her life to seeking justice for her father and the thousands of other families of murdered trade unionists.

Hoyos is touring the United States after receiving the AFL-CIO's Human Rights Award at its recent convention in Pittsburgh.

When her father, Jorge Dario Hoyos Franco, was assassinated eight years ago, Yessika immediately went on the air, telling radio listeners that her father's murder would not silence her. She declared that she would fight for an end to the official impunity, demonstrated by the fact that Colombia's attorney general secures convictions for only 5 percent of the more than 2,700 assassinations of trade unionists.

Her father would not be just another statistic, she vowed.

She was just 17.

Two days after her father's murder, her family began to receive death threats.

Despite it all Yessica continued to press the case. In 2003, two young men were found guilty of the shooting. They said they had killed Dario for "being a subversive" and were carrying out orders from a "higher authority."

It is those higher authorities that Hoyos and the organization she founded, Sons and Daughters Against Impunity and for the Memory of the Fallen, are determined to bring to justice.

At a Sept. 15 panel on labor rights and violence in Colombia, during the AFL-CIO Pittsburgh convention, Hoyos addressed these issues along with Reinaldo Villalba of the Colectivo de Abogados Jose Alvear Restrepo (Lawyers' Collective) and Julio Roberto Gomez, general secretary of the CGT (Confederacion General de Trabajadores) one of the trade union federations in Colombia.

Hoyos and the other panelists said the violence against unionized workers comes from the government and employers. In fact, they said, it is governmental policy.

"Colombia has an anti-union policy. It uses its own agencies to murder trade unionists. The national army has murdered trade unionists," Hoyos said through a translator.

The panelists said the government uses the 40-year civil war in Colombia as a pretext to murder trade unionists who are doing legitimate union work. The army and government claim the victims are "unionists in the daytime and guerillas at night" as a way to stigmatize union activity, Hoyos said.

The Colombian government claims it is negotiating with right-wing paramilitary groups, but lawyer Villalba charged that it's not negotiations but "cooperation on impunity."

Such cooperation "hides responsibility of the state in starting and sponsoring these groups and it hides the economic support of employers, foreign and domestic, that are behind the groups," he said through translation.

The "higher authorities" who are responsible have remained "invisible," and the Colombian justice system has not held these order-givers responsible, the panelists charged.

They leveled the lion's share of blame at the far-right paramilitaries, government and employers for the violence. However, CGT's Gomez said guerilla groups have also been known to kill trade unionists. "We don't want to reduce the number of unionists killed, we want zero trade unionists killed," he said.

Two U.S.-based corporations have been accused of having ties with anti-union "death squads" - Drummond Coal and Chiquita Brands International (the original United Fruit). The Organization of American States revealed that 3,000 automatic weapons and 2.5 million bullets were shipped through Chiquita's private port and picked up by operatives with the notorious death squad AUC.

Drummond Coal has been in and out of courts in both the U.S. and Colombia for its alleged ties to paramilitaries. Recently, a Colombian judge has ordered top Drummond executives to be criminally investigated for allegedly conspiring with paramilitaries to carry out the 2001 murder of three union leaders: Valmore Locarno, Victor Orcasita and Gustavo Soler.

Hoyos' trip is having an impact not only in the U.S. but in Canada too, where the Colombia Free Trade Agreement is currently being debated. News reports quoted one MP, Tony Martin, as speaking passionately against the pact and citing his meeting with Hoyos.

"Trade unionists are simply exercising a right that we take for granted in this country," Martin said. Martin joins the Steelworkers and others demanding human rights violations be addressed first before any trade pact is signed.

Left makes gains in German election shakeup

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:37:00 +0000

BERLIN - Many in the media complained that the just-concluded German election campaign was dull. After all, the two main opponents had worked in a coalition for four years together and generally agreed or compromised on most issues. Dull or not, however, the Sept. 27 vote had three important results.

Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) will remain in office as chancellor, but no longer as an unhappy senior partner with the Social Democrats, once her party's main rivals. In the future, her party will share cabinet seats in a new coalition with its favored partner, the Free Democrats (FDP), who stand even further to the right on most issues.

Although the FDP is the party of businessmen and conservative professionals, its leader, Guido Westerwelle, has been making all kinds of promises to the voters in his smiley manner, and somehow they turned out to be convincing to about 15 percent of the voters, their record thus far. Since he will probably be the next foreign minister, the whole world may get the chance to enjoy his self-confidence and smeary smile. It was especially broad after the elections; it was the many votes for his party which will permit Merkel to stay in office. Her own party, though still ahead of the others, took a bad beating at the polls.

Its losses, though serious, were not nearly as damaging as those of the Social Democrats, which lost over 11 percentage points, getting its worst results since World War II. The party is now down to about 23 percent. After 11 years in government it must now get used to the harder, colder seats on the opposition side. The disaster resulted from its policies of hitting out at working people, small business people and the jobless while cutting taxes on the super-rich and the corporations. True enough, the three other main parties had joined it in backing these policies, but it was the Social Democrats' customary supporters, working people and the jobless, who were most disappointed at its betrayal. They did one of three things. They fell for Guido Westerwelle's beaming grin and promises, partly because his party has not shared government responsibility for many years. Or they simply stayed home and enjoyed the wonderful post-summer weather in the park or countryside without bothering to vote. Or, a third option, they voted for the Left.

This helps explain both the low turnout and the third main election phenomenon. The Left, still gaining strength in western Germany, jumped from a national total of 8.7 percent in 2005 to nearly 12 percent this time, increasing the number of deputies it sends to the Bundestag from 54 to nearly 80.

All three of the smaller parties gained from the great distrust of both the CDU and the Social Democrats and can rejoice while these two major parties which shared in government for the past four years now lick their wounds. The biggest gainers, the Free Democrats, will now move into the cabinet of Angela Merkel's government, which it rescued. The Greens finally won double-digit results, at 10.7 percent, but will be in fifth and last place in the Bundestag behind the Left, whose gains would seem to be most significant.

Until now the Left was almost alone - except for a few mavericks from other parties - in opposing the military adventure in Afghanistan. The other parties had spited the wishes of a solid majority of the German public by sending in the troops. Only the Left fought brutal cuts and pressures aimed at the jobless, presumably to cut unemployment but only increasing it or forcing people into miserably low-paid dead end jobs. The Left was alone in opposing the raising of the pension age from 65 to 67 at a time when almost no one over 50 can find a job. None of the others supported its opposition to tax cuts for the wealthy - while increasing a values added tax which hit low incomes worst of all.

Members of the Left were always treated like dirt, or ragamuffins, labeled either as unrepentant communists from East Germany, most likely with Stasi roots, or as wild radicals from the West, and alternately attacked or ignored in the media. No respectable politician liked to be seen anywhere near them.

But the new government soon to be formed will mark a further turn to the right, almost certainly pushing the drastic measures against labor which the Free Democrats have been preaching, though hitherto in rosy metaphors. All Germans except the wealthiest should be prepared for many a crucial struggle to protect living standards. The Left, till now almost alone in its vigorous resistance to such measures, has now strengthened its positions and can fight better than before. But if the other opposition parties, the Greens and now the Social Democrats, still treat it as a bunch of "Schmuddelkinder," - irrelevant ragtags - this defense will be much more difficult.

During the election campaign both those parties sounded increasingly militant in their demands and promises. They were clearly trying to stanch the hemorrhage of disappointed voters by stealing the demands of the Left. What will they do now? In the face of the menaces from a right-wing government, will they agree to cooperate? Gregor Gysi, the prominent Left leader, warned that Social Democrats must basically alter their positions on key issues like creating jobs, fair support for the jobless, lowering the debt by taxing the super-rich and rejecting military adventures abroad. Only then can there be true cooperation, perhaps even in future elections. But this would require big changes within the Social Democratic party. Perhaps their disastrous showing will force them to draw the same conclusion.

Three election footnotes are also worth mentioning. Separate provincial elections were also held in two German states on Sept. 27. In Brandenburg, once in East Germany, the Left maintained its strong second place, only five points behind the leading Social Democrats, in what is now virtually the latter's last remaining stronghold. The minister president of the state in the capital, Potsdam, needs a partner to achieve a ruling majority. Will he stick to his current partner, the Christian Democrat Union, which once again came in third? Or will he dare to defy the hate campaigns and invite the strong Left to join him in Brandenburg's government? He must decide quickly.

In the northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein, on the border of Denmark, it looks like a shaky coalition of Christian Democrats and Free Democrats, the same coalition as on the national scale. In any case, the Left - despite severe inner quarrels - won 6.6 percentage points, enough to gain seats in the state legislature for the first time. It is now represented in 12 of the 16 German states. Its vigorous opposition to anti-social programs is feared in nearly all of them.

One final bit of news is very welcome: The neo-Nazi party which formerly had seats in the Brandenburg legislature has now lost them. It received hardly more than 1 percent of the vote.

Honduras: Outrageous attacks on Brazilian embassy bring UN rebuke

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 07:24:00 +0000

On Sept. 21, President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya showed up at the Brazilian embassy after secretly re-entering the country, from which he had been expelled in a June 28 coup, and traveling through remote areas to reach the capital. The Brazilian government immediately authorized that Zelaya be allowed to stay at the embassy.

Brazil, like most regional governments, has taken a very strong position against the coup and in favor of Zelaya's return. Brazilians, including President Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva, have not forgotten the bloody history of armed coups and military dictatorships in their own country. Brazil's ambassador, in fact, is absent from the embassy, having been withdrawn as a protest against the coup.

Zelaya spoke to rapturous crowds of supporters at the beginning of the week, but police and soldiers cleared the crowds with water cannon, tear gas and live ammunition, and have been having running battles with protesters said to number in the tens of thousands almost every day since Zelaya's return. There have been scores of injured and at least four dead, as well as many arrests.

Evidently the game-changing move by Zelaya in effectuating his surprise return has rattled the coup regime headed by former Congress President Roberto Micheletti, which is now lashing out like a cornered animal.

Zelaya says he is more than willing to have a dialog with all forces in Honduran society and politics, and in fact had a meeting at the embassy with pro-coup presidential candidates running in the November 29 elections. But so far there have been no tangible results; Micheletti still refuses to accept any formula, including one produced earlier by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and supported by the Obama administration, that would return Zelaya to power for the rest of his term, which ends in January 2010.

Micheletti and his allies claim that Zelaya was legally deposed for trying to push a non-binding referendum calling for a vote in the November elections on having a Constituent Assembly in 2010 to rewrite the authoritarian 1982 Constitution.

However, Zelaya supporters counter that the real reason for the coup was worry on the part of the handful of super-rich families who run this poor Central American country that Zelaya was moving left, supporting workers', women and minority group demands, increasing the minimum wage and integrating Honduras into the left-leaning Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of America (ALBA).

Meanwhile, the Brazilian embassy is under siege. Zelaya and some 70 other people in the embassy (relatives and allies of Zelaya, press and embassy staff) say that the government has been interrupting their water, food and electricity supply, and also bombarding the embassy with high decibel ultrasound and poisonous gases.

Dr. Mauricio Castellano, Zelaya's public health chief, obtained samples of the gases being used for analysis, and reports that they contain concentrations of ammonia (used in pepper gas) and hydrogen cyanide. People in the embassy report headaches, nausea, nosebleeds and blood in their urine, among other symptoms compatible with these poisons.

In addition, it appears that the coup military has deployed Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs) to bombard the embassy with high decibel noise. People trapped in the embassy say the noise is "deafening". Such sound bombardments, which have been used by other military and police forces around the world, can cause permanent hearing damage and other health problems.

Earlier this week, coup police shouted though loudspeakers that they were going to take the embassy by assault; however, this has not happened. Zelaya also reported that he was informed of a plot to invade the embassy, kill him and then claim he had committed suicide.

In New York, both the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations are in session, and the issue of Honduras is on the agenda of both.

In the General Assembly, heads of state from one Latin American country after another have denounced the coup and demanded that the coup regime step down and that Zelaya be restored to the position to which he was elected.

Brazil called for a special closed door session of the Security Council to deal specifically with the attacks on their embassy in Tegucigalpa.

On Sept. 25, the Security Council issued a condemnation of the attacks on the embassy, which constitute a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and thus of international law.

The BBC reports that Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said also "the Brazilian government is concerned that the same people who perpetrated the coup d'état might violate the inviolability of the embassy in order to forcefully arrest President Zelaya".

The Security Council statement demands that all harassment cease and that the defacto Honduran government make sure that water, electricity, food and communications services to the embassy not be interfered with.

U.S. supporters of the Honduran resistance are calling for everybody in this country to contact the White House and State Department to urge the Obama administration to maintain a firm stance that Zelaya must be restored or the November 29 elections should not be considered valid, as they take place under conditions of repression.

Also, we are urged to call our congresspersons to ask them to cosponsor a resolution in the House of Representatives, H. RES. 630, which calls for the U.S. government to support the return of Zelaya.

World Notes: Somalia, Ecuador, India, Germany, Yemen, Cuba

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:05:00 +0000

Al-Jazeera reported that last May U.S. gunfire also killed al-Shabab leader and possible al-Qaeda member Aden Hashi Ayro.

Meanwhile, plans are underway for U.S. construction of "an enormous military base of 1,000 hectares" (2,471 acres) on the outskirts of Tan Tan, Morocco as home for AFRICOM, the U.S. military command for Africa. The report on rebelion.org also cites a U.S. congressional committee's impression that the Kingdom of Mohammed VI offers "internal stability and solid friendship."

Ecuador: Seeks carbon-offset investments

Ecuador this month began seeking out international funding for a project that would leave 846 million barrels in oil reserves - 20 percent of the nation's total - underground in the Amazonian Yasuni Reserve. For 407 million tons of carbon emissions kept from entering the atmosphere, European governments would pay Ecuador an amount equal to half its lost income, thereby funding clean energy, social development and reforestation.

Oil extraction accounted for 63.1 percent of Ecuador's export income last year and 46.6 percent of the government's budget. According to economist and project leader Alberto Acosta, cited by kaosenlared.net, the project is aimed at climate change, protecting indigenous lives and biodiversity, and replacing the Kyoto system of carbon exchanges with so-called "co-responsibility."

India: Worker uprising in Karnataka

Responding to labor agitation throughout Karnataka, state labor minister Bache Gowda claimed a "political conspiracy," but granted unorganized workers demanding constitutional rights a 10 percent minimum wage hike.

He apologized for statewide police brutality that protest organizer Muneer Katipalla of the Center for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) characterized, according to daijiworld.com, as "against democracy in the country and typical of the rule of dictators."

Serious injuries resulted in Gulbarga where workers seeking a hearing for their 17-point package of demands blocked entry into police headquarters. Over 800 demonstrators were arrested in Mangalore and 2,000 in Tumkur, where CITU and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders were detained.

Two campaign posters in Potsdam, in the German state of Brandenburg: (right) for the Social Democratic Party; (left) "Brandenburg becomes red," urges support for the Left Party. AP photo.
Germany: Anti-war position propels Left Party

The Left Party, formed in 2007 when former East German communists joined left social democrats, gained in polls last week in advance of Sept. 27 national elections. While support levels approaching 14 percent will hardly affect the outcome, the news follows Left Party success in regional elections Aug. 31 when it won over 20 percent of the votes in three states.

The party's fortunes are on the upswing in part, Deutsche Welle said, because it is the only party demanding withdrawal of 4,500 German troops from an unpopular war in Afghanistan. The recent German-ordered killing from the air of 30 to 40 civilians in Kunduz provided a further boost. "You can never stabilize Afghanistan with an army," one Left Party organizer declared.

Yemen: Civil war brings humanitarian disaster

UN officials last week expressed concern over civilian casualties caused by government air attacks on rebels based in Yemen's North. The Sept. 16 killing of dozens of people in a refugee camp triggered Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's call for a ceasefire.

With Sa'ada city isolated and 150,000 people having lost homes since July, the humanitarian situation has become "alarming," according to the UN News Center. Response to a recent $23.7 million UN humanitarian appeal has been nil.

Complicating matters are separatist tendencies, U.S. fears of an Al Qaida presence, and, as a UK Guardian report alleges, an Iran-Saudi proxy war setting Shiite rebels against Shia-inclined government forces. The government announced a ceasefire Sept. 18.

Cuba: Island-wide talks on future directions

The government announced this month 45 days of nationwide discussion aimed at defining methods to increase productivity, savings and work efficiency, and to combat corruption.

Venues will be union centers, schools and universities, and meetings of Communist Party groups and Committees for the Defense of the Revolution. Study material includes President Raul Castro's July 26 and Aug. 1 speeches on themes of economic adjustment.

As reported by Agence France Presse, Castro had cited "the irrevocable decision to construct socialism" and called for movement toward a new socialist model. The expected focus on internal analysis, problem identification and solutions will set this discussion period apart from talk sessions in 2007 that primarily encouraged ventilation of grievances.

Film festival faces controversy on Israel boycott

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 08:01:00 +0000

The 34th annual Toronto International Film Festival opened this year amid a growing cultural boycott of Israel. Several prominent directors, including England's Ken Loach have joined the movement to draw attention to Israeli policies affecting Palestinians, especially the recent war in Gaza. In May, Loach succeeded in convincing the Edinburgh Festival to return Israeli funding to the Festival. Recently he pulled his new film, LOOKING FOR ERIC, out of the Melbourne Film Festival citing funding from the Israeli government. Palestinian director Elia Sulieman (DIVINE INTERVENTION) and Israeli filmmaker, Juliano Mer Khamis (ARNA'S CHILDREN) both were original signers to the 2005 call from Israeli and Palestinian artists for a cultural boycott of Israeli goods, applying these measures until Israel recognizes the Palestinian right to self- determination and complies with international law.

This year's Toronto Festival, filled once again with an amazing array of world cinema, was been drawn into the debate, when queer Canadian director, John Greyson, withdrew his short film, COVERED, which he then placed on his website for free streaming throughout the Festival (vimeo.com/greyzone). Greyson, a strong supporter of TIFF and recipient of many awards, reluctantly protested the Festival's choice of Tel Aviv as the kickoff city for a new program featuring films from major world cities. He cited the involvement of the Israeli Consul in this year's Festival with a campaign called ‘Brand Israel' to improve the country's image in the world.

This kicked off the signing of a Toronto Declaration, No Celebration of Occupation, protesting the untimely choice of Tel Aviv. It has gathered over 1500 signatures including prominent artists such as Ken Loach, Jane Fonda, Naomi Klein, Alice Walker, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Danny Glover, David Byrne, and many others. The letter states "We do not protest the individual Israeli filmmakers included in City to City, nor do we in any way suggest that Israeli films should be unwelcome at TIFF. However ... we object to the use of such an important international festival in staging a propaganda campaign on behalf of ... an apartheid regime." The Festival co-programmer for the Spotlight City to City program, Cameron Bailey, defended his choice in a post online, stating, "We recognize that Tel Aviv is not a simple choice and that the city remains contested ground. We continue to learn more about the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. As a festival that values debate and the exchange of cultures, we will continue to screen the best films we can find from around the world. This is our contribution to expanding our audiences' experience of this art form and the worlds it represents."

Over10 films from Tel Aviv were presented in the Spotlight City to City program, and not all are favorable to Israel. THE BUBBLE that was previously shown at TIFF, centers on the Tel Aviv LGBT community and its opposition to the Israeli Occupation. The Romeo and Juliet story, JAFFA takes place in the diverse community north of Tel Aviv and addresses trust and conflict between Arabs and Jews. The series also offered a comprehensive 2-part documentary, A HISTORY OF ISRAELI CINEMA, a thorough and compelling portrayal of how cinema reflects the history of struggle in the region.

Elsewhere in the Festival, award winning Palestinian director, Elia Sulieman (DIVINE INTERVENTION) presented his new film, THE TIME THAT REMAINS that deals with the war of 1948 and the expulsion of Palestinians from their land. LEBANON, a powerful Israeli anti-war film along the lines of WALTZ WITH BASHIR, takes place totally within the confines of a tank fighting in the streets of Lebanon in 1982. AJAMI, co-directed by an Israeli and Palestinian, features local talent filmed on the streets of Jaffa, with topnotch production values.
Despite the controversy that brought world attention to the Israeli cultural boycott, TIFF went on only slightly bruised to present a stunning array of over 350 exciting films from around the world. More will be reviewed in upcoming columns.

For more information on films presented at the Toronto International Film Festival go to: tiff.net
For more information on the Toronto Declaration go to: http://torontodeclaration.blogspot.com/

Obama: I will not waver in pursuit of Mideast peace

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:07:00 +0000

Coming a day after his private summit meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Obama's address to the UN General Assembly today indicated he intends to pursue resolution of the 60-year conflict as a centerpiece of his foreign policy.

As part of that process, he said, "we will also pursue peace between Israel and Lebanon, Israel and Syria, and a broader peace between Israel and its many neighbors. In pursuit of that goal, we will develop regional initiatives with multilateral participation, alongside bilateral negotiations."

Speaking bluntly about what he sees as required, Obama told the assembled heads of state, "All of us must decide whether we are serious about peace, or whether we only lend it lip-service. To break the old patterns - to break the cycle of insecurity and despair - all of us must say publicly what we would acknowledge in private. The United States does Israel no favors when we fail to couple an unwavering commitment to its security with an insistence that Israel respect the legitimate claims and rights of the Palestinians. And nations within this body do the Palestinians no favors when they choose vitriolic attacks over a constructive willingness to recognize Israel's legitimacy, and its right to exist in peace and security."

"After all of the politics and all of the posturing," Obama declared, "this is about the right of every human being to live with dignity and security. That is a lesson embedded in the three great faiths that call one small slice of Earth the Holy Land. And that is why - even though there will be setbacks, and false starts, and tough days - I will not waver in my pursuit of peace."

The U.S.-Israeli-Palestinian summit reportedly came about due to pressure from Obama. The fact that the three-way meeting actually happened was something of a surprise to many.

According to Haaretz correspondent Aluf Benn, the right-wing Netanyahu government had been portraying Obama as a "dishrag" unequal to the heroic strength of "Popeye" Netanyahu who was refusing to bow to Obama's pressure to stop settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territory as a way to jumpstart negotiations.

At the same time, Palestinian leaders had said they would not meet with Netanyahu because of his refusal to halt settlement construction. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, had called the chances of convening the summit "zero."

"In this situation, with his determination and credibility subject to doubt, Obama had to assume the mantle of leadership," Benn commented in Haaretz. "The message he wished to send during the summit is that he has no patience for the endless mutual recriminations and the heavy historical burdens that are weighing down both sides."

Obama indicated following the summit meeting that he was not going to let negotiations be blocked by Israel's refusal to stop settlement construction.

Administration officials told reporters that Obama had made it clear to Abbas and Netanyahu that he wanted negotiations to resume "about all outstanding issues," based on agreements that have already been reached going back to the Oslo talks 16 years ago.

"We won't start the negotiations from scratch, we will not take the historical record and toss it aside," Obama told reporters. "Nor will we wait for the perfect formula."

Following the summit, Erekat expressed pessimism about prospects, noting that neither Obama nor his special envoy George Mitchell had been able to get Israel to halt settlement activity.

"We thought that the invitation of President Obama was a personal invitation that reflected the commitment to achieve the two-state solution," Erekat said, according to the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency.

While Erekat applauded Obama and Mitchell's efforts, he lamented that since "the Americans cannot have the Israelis comply with stopping settlement activities," little more could be expected from Israel on larger issues.

Alluding to Netanyahu's reliance on a shaky far-right coalition, Erekat said, "If the Israeli government believes that they [can] maintain their coalition by saying Jerusalem is not going to be negotiated, refugees is not going to be negotiated, settlements will continue, then they can make peace between themselves."

Yet Obama appeared determined to press strongly for serious negotiations. "It's difficult to disentangle ourselves from history but we must do so," he told reporters. "The only reason to hold public office is to get things done. We all must take risks for peace."

"We cannot continue the same pattern of taking tentative steps forward and then stepping back."

"Simply put, it is past time to talk about starting negotiations," Obama said. "It is time to move forward. ... Permanent status negotiations must begin and begin soon."

suewebb @ peoplesworld.org

Cuba prepares for UN resolution, U.S. renews blockade

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:05:00 +0000

Last year, 185 nations backed the 17th annual version of the resolution. The United States, Israel and Palau voted no.

Two days before, the U.S. government announced that "national interests" mandate the blockade's continuation. In an annual ritual serving that end, Barack Obama joined previous presidents in issuing an approval required under the 1917 Trading with the Enemy Act. He met a Sept. 15 deadline.

That law stipulates two conditions for embargo: one, military engagement; the other, "national emergency." Necessarily, Obama opted for the latter, in effect validating an emergency lasting 47 years. Presidential action was symbolic. Under the 1996 Helms Burton Act, Congress assumed responsibility for changing blockade rules.

At his press conference, Foreign Minister Rodriguez credited Obama for rhetoric "less aggressive" than his predecessor's and for advancing specific measures, particularly reversal of Bush rules restricting Cuban-American travel to Cuba and provision of financial support for family members there. "The new President," he said, "has shown himself to be a well-intentioned, intelligent man and a modern politician." But "he was elected on the basis of change and there is no change in the blockade against Cuba."

For journalists, Rodriguez summarized the report to the General Assembly, available at cubavsbloqueo.cu/Informe2009/index/html. He highlighted U.S. isolation on Cuba as unprecedented.

Rodriguez underscored the "political crime" of genocide, citing standards established by the Geneva conventions. He referred to the famous 1960 State Department internal memorandum establishing U.S. objectives as "causing hunger, suffering, and desperation in the Cuban people."

The report castigates the blockade as "ethically unacceptable," a violation of the UN Charter and "norms of international commerce," and a "transgression of rights to peace, development and security of a sovereign state." According to the Foreign Minister, the blockade represents both a "massive, flagrant, and systematic violation of the human rights of the Cuban people" and "the main obstacle for our social and economic development." The report indicates that blockade-caused losses to Cuba in terms of current dollar valuation amount now to $236 billion.

Rodriguez detailed "extraterritorial' operation of U.S. laws putting off limits life-saving medical equipment and medications made in third countries. Still in effect are strictures against foreign products containing over 10 percent U.S. materials or helped along by U.S. financing, rules against foreign banks using U.S. dollars in commerce with Cuba, and prohibition against ships entering U.S. ports for six months after stopping in Cuba.

Referring only to examples from 2009, Rodriguez catalogued instances of abuse, among them childhood cancer drugs blocked, instruments used in cardiac surgery unavailable, telecommunications replacement parts denied, and a $5.75 million fine leveled against the Australia and New Zealand Bank group.

Focusing on damage to U.S. national interests, he mentioned U. S. unwillingness to benefit from Cuban medical discoveries and denial of travel rights for citizens unable to learn "first hand about the Cuban reality." "Is Cuba the "forbidden fruit?" he asked.

Yet the pot is stirring. In his inaugural speech as new president of the UN General Assembly, Ali Abdussalem Treki registered condemnation. In September, the AFL-CIO meeting in convention resolved that "the AFL-CIO calls upon Congress to initiate legislation that would repeal the economic embargo against the Republic of Cuba and broaden diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba."

Since returning from Cuba a month ago, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has outlined possible steps to modify U.S. policies through presidential executive orders. "Let anybody go to Cuba," he tells audiences. So far, 161 Members of Congress have signed onto the Freedom to Travel to Cuba bill, H.R. 874, and 33 Senators are cosponsoring its equivalent in that chamber, S. 428.

Bruno Rodriguez commented on the then-upcoming Peace without Borders concert organized for Havana on Sept. 20 by Latin music superstar Juanes. The event, he said, "is a reflection of international public opinion that is calling for a change in relations between the United States and Cuba."

atwhit@roadrunner.com

Honduras: Women's group says airports are closed

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:53:00 +0000

While President Manuel Zelaya is calling for dialogue and urging the population in resistance to the coup to take peaceful action, the de facto government - presided over by Roberto Michelleti - just minutes before 4 p.m., Sept. 21, decreed a national curfew taking effect at 4 p.m. and lasting until 7 a.m. the following day.

In the evening, through a national TV channel, the curfew was extended to 6 p.m., Sept. 22, converting the curfew into a state of siege, which is completely illegal and violates the human rights of the population.

It must be noted that these methods are being enforced in order to dissuade Hondurans from concentrating in the country's capital in order to express our support for the return of constitutional order in Honduras.

While the de facto government intends to make prisoners out of the Hondurans in resistance to the coup, the business class and politicians are making declarations on the media outlets that are aligned with the de facto government. These statements do not even recognize that a curfew is in effect.

The resistance movement has also made a call not to obey the curfew because, looking at the curfew from any point of view, it is an illegal action taken by a government that does not represent the people of Honduras.

The few media outlets that are offering information about the resistance movement have been threatened and some have been taken off the air.

At this moment, those people that had set up camp in front of the Brazilian Embassy have been violently dispersed. There are reports of injuries and an unconfirmed report of a death.

The National Police have announced that they have an arrest warrant for Manuel Zelaya and there is fear that, although it would violate international law, the armed forces might attempt to enter the Brazilian Embassy.

According to the de facto government, the San Jose talks are now "buried" and the country's four airports have been closed. The arrival of an Organization of American States commission or any other commission to facilitate dialogue is impossible.

Breaking News: Honduran President Zelaya back in country

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:11:00 +0000

Zelaya told the television station, one of the few pro-Zelaya media outlets in the capital, that he traveled overland for two days to reach the capital and is making arrangements to take back the government he heads.

In the meantime, thousands or pro-Zelaya people are congregating in the streets around the UN offices. The original news came from the Honduran Ambassador to Nicaragua, Elizabeth Sierra.

A Zelaya spokesperson said the president is calling on his cabinet to come to the capital to reform his government.

Meanwhile the coup government led by Roberto Michelleti has been silent although a spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces say Zelaya is not in the country.

Kraft workers’ struggle in Argentina goes global

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:35:00 +0000

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The front lines of the class war have no geographic boundaries. This is the reality presented to us by capitalist globalization. With the original intention of dividing and weakening the international working class, the result is the beginnings of a new sense of international solidarity between workers regardless of nationality. A case in point is the current struggle of Argentine workers at the Kraft plant (formerly Terrabusi) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In July, at the peak of the H1N1 "Swine flu" outbreak, workers at the Buenos Aires plant went on strike in protest of management's refusal to provide adequate sanitation for workers. Workers were also denied sick leave and family leave during the outbreak. Hand sanitizers and other supplies needed to prevent spread of contagion were not available. After numerous demands from the workers were ignored, the strike was called resulting in a production stoppage lasting a week.

Argentina's labor laws require compulsory arbitration if workers are unable to reach a satisfactory resolution to demands. Argentina's Ministry of Labor sent inspectors to the facility at the onset of the strike and confirmed that Kraft had violated the compulsory arbitration conditions of national labor law by refusing to take any actions in response to worker demands. The company responded to the strike by firing over 150 workers, including elected union officers, shop stewards, and delegates in an apparent attempt to both intimidate the workers and weaken their union.

On Sept. 1, workers again called a strike, resulting in a work stoppage. This time, Kraft responded by declaring a lockout, leaving fired workers stranded within the plant, isolated from their co-workers who were demonstrating outside. Armed riot police barricaded the compound, and shot rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd outside the plant.

The Argentine workers have been utilizing social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube to disseminate information about their struggle. Since late August, the workers at the Buenos Aires plant have been constantly organizing demonstrations, protests and other acts of resistance.

In spite of an "obligatory conciliation" ruling by Argentina's Ministry of Labor, Kraft continues to refuse to reinstate the illegally fired workers and has yet to comply with demands for adequate sanitation measures in the workplace.

On Sept. 17, American activists and workers responded with demonstrations at two major Kraft facilities in Illinois: a major manufacturing plant in Champaign and Kraft corporate headquarters in Glenview.

The Champaign plant manufactures many popular Kraft food products, such as "Mac and Cheese" and "Micracle Whip." Fliers were distributed outside of both facilities.

At Champaign, a Kraft representative who wished to be identified only as "Brad" indicated that he was aware of the Kraft workers' struggle in Argentina, but declined to comment further.

This struggle provides a good example of the usefulness of the Internet, and social networking in particular, to unite workers and activists on a global scale. Today, that statement which once was uttered with only hope is now filled with a new sense of real possibilities: Workers of the World, Unite!

To learn more and to keep up to date with this on-going struggle, join the Facebook group "Say NO to KRAFT campaign." http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=124299898146

With Juan Almeida, they broke the mold

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:57:00 +0000

Veteran revolutionary leader Juan Almeida Bosque died Sept. 11 at age 82. Two days later, Cubans honored him in nationwide ceremonies in recognition of accomplishments during the anti-Batista guerrilla war and, later on, his leading role within the revolutionary government.

Almeida survived the Moncada attack in 1953, endured imprisonment and exile, and returned with other revolutionaries to engage the U.S.-backed tyranny. He headed a detachment of the rebel army. With the victory of the revolution, he took charge of the air force, served as armed forces general, and joined the Communist Party's Political Bureau and Central Committee. Almeida later became vice president of the Council of State. He headed the National Association of Veterans and Combatants of the Revolution.

Beyond deeds and responsibilities, however, Almeida's life described a trajectory extraordinary for any political leader. The tributes bestowed upon him, overwhelming in the Cuban media, stemmed, analysts say, from popular identification with Almeida's origins as one of 12 brothers in a poor Afro-Cuban family. At age 12 he was working as a bricklayer. Somehow he later became a law student, in the process encountering and following fellow student Fidel Castro.

"As the most visible and prominent Afro-Cuban in government, Almeida's life and accomplishments were representative of the great transformation which took place for Afro-Cubans beginning 50 years ago," said University of Memphis history professor Dennis Laumann. "Having endured apartheid-like segregation in the cities and labored in the countryside very much like their slave ancestors," he continued, "illiterate Afro-Cubans volunteered to join the rebel army and took part in the dismantling of the racist order when the Revolution triumphed. Within one generation, Cubans of African descent became doctors, engineers, professors and state officials. Almeida, along with other well-known Afro-Cubans, was symbolic of that advance."

He spoke in a concise, unadorned and often questioning manner. Interviewed for the 2003 Estela Bravo film, "Fidel," Almeida talked from the seeming vantage-point of an amused, distant observer about the white pigeons descending upon and around Fidel Castro's shoulders during Castro's first major speech in Havana in 1959.

"Everybody was moved," Almeida said. "In those days Cubans were very religious, based on African things, doves, dancing, and all that. From then on, people believed Fidel was Christ's messenger." This was hardly the usual spin of generals and top state officials.

The "Comandante of the Revolution" - so-named by Fidel Castro in the Sierra Maestra in 1958 - spoke to people in song, 300 to 500 of them according to varying estimates. Some became popular, including Este camino largo" (This long road), "Mejor concluir" (We'd better part); "Vuelve pronto" (Come back soon); and, notably, "La Lupe."

He met Lupe in Mexico while the young rebels were preparing for the 1956 voyage to Cuba in the yacht Granma. "There I said things about her," but now, he recalled, "It's dedicated not only to that Mexican woman, but to all Mexican women, and to Mexico."

Juan Almeida authored 12 books, mostly first- hand stories of revolutionary struggle and building a new society. His "Against Wind and Water," the story of Cuba's response to Hurricane Flora in 1963, won the Casa de las Americas Award in 1985. Other titles included "Presidio (Prison)," "Exilio (Exile)," "Desembarco (Landing)," and "La Sierra (The Mountains)." Some 50 of his poems were published.

In 1990, Almeida headed the Cuban delegation at ceremonies marking the independence of Namibia. There he met with Nelson Mandela, recently released from prison. Mandela for the first time formally expressed gratitude to Cuba. He told Almeida, according to former Cuban diplomat Giraldo Mazola Collazo, that "he was free and Namibia was today independent thanks to the sacrifice of Cuban internationalist combatants."

José Antonio Torres' undated interview with Almeida appearing on Cubadebate.cu is revealing. There Almeida explains that knowledge comes about through "teachings from our own history and that which emanates from the phenomena of this world." The revolution is defended through "the unity of our people around our leaders and the revolution. Unity makes us strong, division weakens."

Almeida famously told Che Guevara in the midst of battle in the Sierra Maestra, "Around here, nobody surrenders." In a preface to an Almeida book, poet Roberto Fernández Retamar spoke for many: "Happy is the revolution that has heroes with music in their soul and words to preserve their struggles, efforts and dreams."

atwhit@roadrunner.com

WORLDNOTES: Western Sahara, Great Britain, Guatemala, Philippines, Afghanistan, Cuba

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 06:22:00 +0000

Western Sahara: UN official visits camps

Some 165,000 loyalists of the Polisario independence movement for Western Sahara live in "precarious conditions" according to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, who last week inspected refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria. The last commissioner's visit occurred in 1976, according to the French news agency AFP.

Polisario leader Mohamed Abdelaziz saw the initiative as boosting talks resumed last month in Austria on a UN independence referendum, ordered 18 years ago. The Polisario Front had contested Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara from 1976, when Spanish colonialists left, until a 1991 ceasefire.

On Aug. 27, Moroccan police abducted and tortured a young woman before releasing her naked outside Laayoune, Western Sahara. Earlier, according to

AllAfrica.com, she and other students were blocked from attending a "peace camp" in England.

Great Britain: Right urges spending cuts

Responding to recession and joined by the Institute of Directors, the Taxpayers Alliance issued a report this month calling for tax relief and over $83 billion in government spending cuts. "Incentives to work, invest, and save" are lacking, according to taxpayersalliance.com.

Reduced spending would finish off a major school construction project and National Health Service computer upgrades. A public sector wage freeze would follow, along with cuts to top public sector salaries, children's programs and student support grants.

Quoted on Politics.co.uk, student leader Wes Streeting characterized the Taxpayers' Alliance as "an alliance of right-wing ideologues" mobilized against "hard working people." Trades Union Congress head Brendan Barber bemoaned "the absence of any cuts in the welfare state for the super-rich."

Guatemala: Starvation soars

In response to a wave of malnutrition that killed almost 500 people during the first six months of 2009, social democratic President Alvaro Colom last week declared a "state of public calamity" to facilitate emergency food purchases. He sought $110 million in international aid.

At a press conference ending his recent visit there, UN food expert Olivier De Schutter cited causes including severe drought especially in Guatemala's east, lack of government economic resources and extreme divisions of wealth.

Almost half of Guatemalan children age five or less are chronically malnourished - the highest rate in Latin America and fourth highest in the world. Some 75 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, according to Inter Press Service.

Philippines: U.S. troops under scrutiny

Citing violations of sovereignty, a group of senators late last month announced plans to seek Senate rejection of agreements permitting U.S. troop activities in the Republic. Senator Miriam Santiago noted U.S. Colonel David Maxwell's admission that U.S. troops are making direct contact with Abu Sayyaf guerrillas. "If the U.S. wants to use Philippine territory in its alleged war on terror, they will have to negotiate a treaty," Santiago declared, according to Globalresearch.ca.

The senators relied also on revelations by naval officer Nancy Gadian, an experienced whistleblower, that 500 US soldiers were assigned in Mindanao as "the first line of defense against the enemy where they maintain permanent camps in the island." U.S. spokespersons denied the allegations.

Afghanistan: Taliban control spreads

In a Sept. 10 press release, the International Council on Security and Development, an international research group, reported the Taliban has established a permanent presence in 80 percent of the country, up from 72 percent in November 2008 and 54 percent a year earlier. Taliban presence had become "substantial" in another 17 percent of Afghanistan.

With influence expanding in the previously secure north, prospects for a safe and early replay or second round of presidential elections held in August dimmed.

The survey regarded one or more insurgent attacks per week as establishing Taliban presence in a given province as permanent. Taliban growth coincides with what Reuters called "the most violent period since the Taliban were toppled ... in 2001."

Cuba: Juan Almeida dies

Juan Almeida Bosque died Sept. 11 at age 82. A bricklayer at age 11, Almeida joined the 1953 assault on the Moncada barracks. As leader of the guerrilla army's Third Front fighting the Batista dictatorship in the Sierra Maestra mountains, Almeida was designated a "Commandante of the Revolution." "He went on to head the air force, become an armed forces general, join the Communist Party's Political Bureau in 1965, and serve as a Council of State Vice President and National Assembly deputy . "

The report on Cubadebate cites "his special humanistic and artistic sensibility" as contributing to the history of the Cuban revolution. As a Black man become revolutionary leader, Almeida had long symbolized the revolution's break with Cuba's racist past.

World Notes are compiled by W.T. Whitney Jr. (atwhit@roadrunner.com)

US choppers cut down two men

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:13:00 +0000

Guerillas have vowed to retaliate after US special forces commandos swooped on a Somali village and killed two men, including a Kenyan national who Washington claims is one of Africa's most wanted terror suspects.

Somali witnesses to the raid on September 14 said that six helicopters buzzed Roobow village before two of the aircraft opened fire on a vehicle, killing two and wounding two.

US military officials said that forces from the US Joint Special Operations Command were involved in the raid, but refused to divulge details.

The deputy mayor for security affairs in Mogadishu, citing intelligence reports, claimed Kenyan citizen Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan had been killed but did not elaborate.

Mr Nabhan was wanted for questioning in connection with the car bombing of an Israeli-owned beach resort in Kenya and a near-simultaneous attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner in 2002.

Sheikh Bare Mohamed Farah Khoje, a spokesman for the al-Shabab militia that controls most of southern Somalia, said: "Muslims will retaliate against this unprovoked attack - we will never forget our brothers who were targeted illegally by the US.

"The US is Islam's known enemy and we will never expect mercy from them, nor should they expect mercy from us," he declared, vowing that Washington would "taste the bitterness of our response."

Another Islamist group linked to al-Shabab also expressed its outrage and predicted that the raid would feed local resentment.

Amal Islam chairman Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal said: "This will only increase Somalis' hatred for the US, which never abides by international law in its war on Islam."

Obama missile move positive step in nuclear reduction

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:48:00 +0000

President Barack Obama announced Sep. 17 that he plans to replace the Bush administrations missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland with a “new approach” by deploying a reconfigured system aimed at intercepting shorter-range missiles.

The original plan proposed by the Bush administration in 2007 was intended to defend against long-range missile launches from “rouge” states such as North Korea and Iran. Russia, on the other hand, claimed missiles on its border could lead to a possible threat to its overall security, although the U.S. denied such charges.

Pentagon officials and the Obama administration said the decision to move the shield was based on intelligence indicating Iran is focused on developing short- and medium-range missiles rather than long-range intercontinental missiles originally feared by the Bush administration.

Obama said the new missile defense architecture in Eruope will be “smarter, safer, and swifter,” saying he agrees with the Bush administration’s assessment that Iran’s missile program continues to pose a threat.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates notes the new system is not abandoning the original proposal. The new plan however is aimed at enhancing and redesigning “our ability to respond to the most immediate threats,” he said.

The original plan was to deploy a sophisticated radar system in the Czech Republic and 10 ground-based interceptors in Poland. The new system would deploy smaller missiles, at first aboard ships and later probably either in southern Europe or turkey, Obama officials say.

The decision comes after an extensive missile defense policy review of the European deployment, which was completed this month.

Obama said he called leaders of both the Czech Republic and Poland to reaffirm “our deep and close ties.” According to reports both countries may not be very happy with the new plan, fearing their Russian neighbor. Although many citizens in both countries opposed the original plan.

Obama did reiterate the U.S.’s commitment under Article V of the NATO charter that says an attack on one member is an attack on the entire alliance.

Critics in the U.S. and groups that advocate for nuclear disarmament welcome the news and say the Obama plan recognizes the role of international diplomacy and responsibility between countries especially between Russia and the U.S.

“The Obama administration made the right call,” said Tom Z. Collina, research director with the Arms Control Association in a press release. “It would have been extremely unwise to proceed with the Bush administration’s plan to rush untested interceptors into Poland to deal with an Iranian long-range missile threat that does not yet exist,” he said.

U.S. intelligence estimates that Iran will not pose such a threat until 2015 at the earliest, says Collina.

“President Obama’s more pragmatic approach steers the U.S. toward a European missile defense that addresses more realistic threats and also facilitates deeper reductions in bloated U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles,” said Collina. “This is a win-win-win for the United States, Europe and global security,” he added.

David Culp with the Friends Committee on National Legislation agrees.
“This is a very positive step and it’s going to make it easier to get a nuclear arms reduction agreement with Russia,” said Culp.

Although Culp said people should not read too much into the new plan, which is not abandoning the original aim, it’s just moving it, he said.

When it comes to military spending not much has changed, said Culp. “It’s a more limited system but it’s not much cheaper,” he said. “This is still going to be very expensive.”

However the relationship between the U.S. and Russia, because of the new plan, could lead to a better and more positive outcome, said Culp.
“The Bush attitude was not interested in arms control or treaties with Russia, period,” said Culp. “They didn’t believe in agreements. Obama is much more focused on utilizing diplomacy and resume talks with real results on non-proliferation and arms control,” he said. “We have to engage with Russia, with Iran and with the United Nations because we can’t do it by ourselves,” said Culp.

Mikhail Margelov, chair of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of Russia’s parliament, said in an interview that the new decision by the Obama administration will give a major boost toward relations between the two countries.

“For Russia, it is a victory for common sense,” Margelov said. “It’s another positive signal that we have received from Washington that makes the general climate very positive.”

Meanwhile Culp said next week is very important for the Obama administration as the sixth round of talks resume between U.S. and Russian officials in Geneva. Culp said Obama also plans to address the United Nations General Assembly as well. Obama is also scheduled to meet privately with Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev in New York. Finally, in a meeting never before chaired by a U.S. president Obama plans to lead a discussion with the United Nation’s Security Council about non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament, he said.

plozano@pww.org

Juan Almeida Bosque: a hero with music in his soul

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:30:00 +0000

From the website of Radio Havana Cuba: www.radiohc.cu.

HAVANA - Cubans are mourning the death of Commander of the Revolution, Juan Almeida Bosque. He is a legendary character in the history of the Cuban Revolution, who always combined literature with music and gave us the possibility to know his sensibility to the world and life.

The work of Commander of the Revolution Juan Almeida Bosque stands at the top of Cuban popular music. His pieces Dame un traguito (Give me a drink), Déjala que baile sola (Let her dance alone); Este son (This son) and Homenaje (Homage) quickly became hits among the lovers of Son and dancers.

"La Lupe" stands out in Juan Almeida's compositions as one of the most popular and well-known songs he ever wrote, where he reflected deep-rooted love for a woman and his Homeland. His repertoire encompassed over 500 songs in different genres.

Others of Juan Almeida's better known songs are: "Este camino largo" (This long road), "Mejor concluir" (We'd better part), "Vuelve pronto" (Come back soon) and "Mejor diciembre (December is better)." These are pieces of thorough writing and fine expressive and rythmatic shades.

We should not omit his record "Elegy", where he pays tribute to the Homeland and its founding fathers. The instrumentals include pieces dedicated to Jose Marti and Major Generals Antonio Maceo and Ignacio Agramonte. Evocation was dedicated to the Revolutionary Armed Forces, as well as Homeland's Victory. These pieces had a beautiful sound and high patriotic content.

As for Juan Almeida's literary work, he wrote several texts with the testimony of one of the main characters in unforgettable moments of Cuban history. There are titles like Contra el Agua y el viento (Against water and wind), winner of Casa de las Americas Award in 1985; La única ciudadana (The only citizen); El general en Jefe Máximo Gómez (General in Chief Maximo Gomez); Presidio (Prison); Exilio (Exile); Desembarco (Landing); La Sierra (The Mountains); Por las faldas del Turquino (Trekking Turquino hillsides); ¡Atención! (Attention) ¡Recuento! (Summary); La Sierra Maestra y más allá (Sierra Maestra and yonder) and La aurora de los héroes (The Heroes' Dawn). In addition, more than 50 of his poems were published at "Bohemia" magazine.

Commander Almeida was born in Havana City, on February 17 1927. He joined the revolutionary struggle March 10 1952, in Havana University, where he met Fidel Castro Ruz. Along side him, he participated in the Assault to Moncada Garrison on July 26 1953. He was subsequently apprehended and condemned to 10 years imprisonment in the Penitentiary of the former Island of Pines.

After he was pardoned, he traveled to Mexico, where he joined the expedition on the Granma Yacht, which landed in Las Coloradas, to the southeast of the former Oriente province on December 2 1956.

He fought in several battles for the Rebel Army at Sierra Maestra and was promoted to the rank of Commander of the "Santiago de Cuba" Column on February 27 1958. In March 1958, following Fidel's orders, he organized the third front of operations in that mountain range, which would be eventually called "Mario Muñoz Monroy" Third Eastern Front. Its main mission was keeping the pressure on Santiago de Cuba, the seat of the second most important garrison of Fulgencio Batista's tyranny.

After January 1 1959, he served in different posts for the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Communist Party and the State.

In the First Congress of Cuban Communist Party, Juan Almeida Bosque was elected member of the Central Committee and the Politburo.

He served as member of the National Assembly of People's Power (Parliament) and Vice-president of the Council of State.

On February 27 1998, he was conferred the honorary title of "Hero of the Republic of Cuba" and the "Maximo Gomez" Award in its First Degree. Many other medals and decorations were bestowed on him.

As poet Roberto Fernandez Retamar wrote in the foreword of one of his works: "Happy is the revolution whose heroes have music and words in their souls to preserve battles, endeavors and dreams."

Translated by Pedro A. Fanego

ICC to investigate Afghan atrocities

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:03:00 +0000

Original source: morningstaronline.co.uk

The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court has revealed that he is probing atrocities allegedly committed by Western occupation forces in Afghanistan.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said: "What we are trying to assess is different types of allegations, including massive attacks, collateral damage exceeding what is considered proper, and torture."

Mr Moreno-Ocampo declined to provide details on what incidents the ICC was looking into, but said that officials are examining the actions of both occupation forces and Afghan guerillas.

Last week a German colonel in Afghanistan called in a NATO air strike that killed up to 125 civilians in Kunduz.

Asked whether any NATO soldier is now a potential target of the court if they commit a war crime in a country under the court's jurisdiction, he replied that a NATO legal adviser was at the court's headquarters in The Hague last week discussing this issue.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo reported that NATO chiefs are now explaining to colonels that, in the future, they could end up before the court if they commit atrocities.

"That is the most important thing because these massive atrocities are planned - so if those who are planning know they will be prosecuted, they will do something different," he said.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo emphasised that it was not certain that the court would be asked to charge anyone.

"Before we open an investigation, my office has a duty to conduct preliminary examinations to define exactly whether or not I should open an investigation," he explained.

He noted that, as Afghanistan is a signatory of the treaty that established The Hague-based ICC, any war crime committed on its territory is of interest to the court.

But the US, which has the most troops in Afghanistan, is not a member of the ICC - and US officials have long insisted that US soldiers abroad should be subject to US law, not international treaties.

n The German officer who ordered the deadly bombing of fuel tankers in Afghanistan violated procedures, a preliminary NATO probe has found.

Colonel Georg Klein overstepped his authority and poorly evaluated the situation, according to a NATO inquiry which was ordered in light of last Friday's bombardment in Kunduz province.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her "deep regret" on Tuesday for any civilians killed, but said she "will not accept any premature judgements" on the raid.

Amnesty International protests Cuba blockade

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 06:52:00 +0000

Critics of U.S. bullying of Cuba often focus on issues at the periphery of the central manifestation of U.S. aggression. In recent years issues such as the Cuban Five, new travel ban rules and Bush plans for capitalist takeover in Cuba have from time to time pushed the economic blockade off stage.

That has happened especially as laws tightening the blockade, the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act and the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, recede into history. Serving as a periodic reminder of the illegality, cruelty and immorality of that policy is the UN General Assembly's overwhelming approval every year for 17 years of Cuban resolutions protesting the blockade. But more was required.

Amnesty International (AI) filled the gap. It released a report earlier this month setting forth nefarious consequences of the blockade, especially as regards health care. AI asked President Obama to close it down. One piece of the legal façade behind the blockade has been the supposed "national emergency" prescribed in the absence of overt war by the enabling legislation, the 1917 Trading with the Enemy Act. Sept. 15 is the date this year that a "national emergency" has to be declared anew. AI urges President Obama to hold off.

The report (available at http://bit.ly/1lp4Xv) is remarkable on several counts. Well written, it provides a clear, comprehensive description of the history and operations of the economic blockade. The document includes a handy overview of U.S. laws shaping the blockade and reviews proposed U.S. legislation, past and present, aimed at normalizing relations with Cuba. It details reduced availability of medical supplies and drugs.

The report's central point is that Washington shows little regard for the blockade's effects on human health. AI, excluded from Cuba, relied upon UN missions and surveys to secure data. Special difficulties attributed to the blockade are highlighted, such as maintaining children's nutrition and caring for people with cancer and infectious disease. "The restrictions imposed by the embargo help to deprive Cuba of vital access to medicines, new scientific and medical technology, food, chemical water treatment and electricity," reads the report.

There is no "formal mechanism within the U.S. government to monitor the impact of the embargo on economic and social rights in Cuba," says AI. That, of course, is no surprise. A State Department official predicted in 1960 that "economic malaise and material difficulties" would cause "hunger, desperation and the collapse of the government." Suffering presumably was and is the purpose of the blockade.

The report recalled an often overlooked provision of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992. Sales of medical supplies were allowed on humanitarian grounds but certification by U.S. officials as to eventual use was required, in Cuba. The impossibility of such inspections nixed humanitarian sales.

Many over the years have referred to Cuban health care as one of the "jewels of the revolution" and as such, ripe for the picking by U.S. overlords nervous about the "threat of a good example." (e.g. Peter Schwab, "Cuban Health Care and the U.S. Embargo," Monthly Review, November 1997.)

As if on cue, Fidel Castro's "Reflections" of Sept. 6 points out: "[I]n that highly humane field our country enjoys universal recognition." Cuba, he says, has provided health workers, equipment and leadership to Venezuela "to create one of the best health care systems in the world."

Cuba arranged purchases of diagnostic equipment for both countries from Siemens Corporation in Germany and Holland's Philips Corporation. The Cubans equipped "27 Advanced Technology Diagnosis Centers distributed throughout the 24 states of Venezuela."

Philips was to provide "3,553 machines at a value of $72,762,694." Castro recalls: "I personally participated in negotiations with these two companies for these purchases."

In late 2006, Philips ran up against the U.S. blockade, and deliveries to Venezuela ceased. Philips representatives explained to the irate Cubans that, "Our organization is being affected and threatened. All our organizations are very scared. They are very scared." Philips Corporation paid a $128,750 fine to the U.S. government earlier this year.

Releasing the report, Irene Khan, Amnesty International secretary-general, denounced the blockade as "preventing millions of Cubans from benefiting from vital medicines and medical equipment essential for their health ... The U.S. embargo against Cuba is immoral," she declared, "and should be lifted."
atwhit@roadrunner.com

Sex-education effort raises storm clouds

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:44:00 +0000

JOHANNESBURG, 4 September 2009 (PlusNews) - An attempt to help educators around the world develop sex-education programmes as a way to reduce unwanted pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among young people has become bogged down in controversy.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in partnership with several other UN agencies, reviewed 87 studies and consulted a long list of experts on sexuality education to draft the 98-page International Guidelines on Sexuality Education.

The guidelines are still being finalized but a draft version suggests key areas that a sex education curriculum should cover at four different age levels between five and 18. The topics include relationships, reproduction, gender inequality and various aspects of sexuality, but conservative groups in the United States have focused on a handful of suggested learning areas that they view as overly explicit and inappropriate for young children.

A report published on the news web site, Foxnews.com, zeroes in on the issue of masturbation, which the UNESCO guidelines suggest teachers begin discussing with children aged 5 to 8.

"At that age they should be learning about ... the proper name of certain parts of their bodies, certainly not about masturbation," Michelle Turner, president of the Maryland-based Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, is quoted as saying. Turner was also "disturbed" by the recommendation that the subject of abortion be introduced to children as young as nine. Various critics have taken issue with suggestions that teachers discuss homosexuality, contraception, and gender-based violence.

Statements by UNESCO as well as the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), which helped develop the document, have defended it as an evidence-based strategy for reducing HIV infection in young people, and improving their sexual and reproductive health.

They cite data from the International Planned Parenthood Federation showing that every year at least 111 million new cases of STIs occur among young people aged between 10 and 24, and up to 4.4 million girls aged 15 to 19 seek abortions, most of which are unsafe. According to UNAIDS, 45 percent of new HIV infections occur among people between 15 and 24 years old

At the moment, education is the best weapon we have for dealing with these issues," said Mark Richmond, UNESCO director of the Division for the Coordination of UN Priorities in Education. "Evidence tells us that by and large young people do not have access to the knowledge that could help them make informed decisions ... the new guidelines contribute to filling this gap."

Anticipating many of the objections, a lengthy section of the document, called "The rationale for sexuality education", notes that one of the challenges is to reach young people "before they become sexually active, whether ... through choice, necessity or coercion".

"These International Guidelines emphasize the importance of addressing the reality of young people's sexual lives: this includes those aspects of which policy-makers and others may personally disapprove," the authors noted. "Decision-makers with a duty of care have to recognize that good scientific evidence and public health imperatives should take priority over personal opinion."

Michael Bennish, executive director of Mpilonhle, a South African-based NGO providing health and HIV-prevention education to schools, described the objections to "a very balanced and thoughtful document" as "ideologically-driven".

"I think there's substantial evidence that sex education does not lead to irresponsible sexual activity," he told IRIN/PlusNews. "There are age-appropriate ways to talk about sex ... and kids are sexual from an early age; they're curious about their anatomy and procreation, and it's better they have the right information than the wrong information."

A report in the New York Times on 1 September asserted that the controversy had caused the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), a key partner, to pull out of the project, but a UNFPA spokesperson refused to confirm this, saying only that the organisation was still in discussion with UNESCO about making the publication "more context-specific".

Another criticism by conservative commentators was that the guidelines took a one-size-fits-all, culturally insensitive approach. Mary Beth Hastings, deputy director of the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), a US-based NGO, disagreed.

"I think conservative groups tend to blow anything about sexuality, particularly regarding children, out of proportion and they do so because of their agenda," she told IRIN/PlusNews. "There are fundamental truths about child sexuality that have to be dealt with. I think the guidelines allow countries to adapt to their culture but still understand that children are going through a process that has to be addressed."

The guidelines will be formally launched at the United Nations in New York at the end of October. Hastings said she hoped the debate would not detract from the original aim of providing sexuality education as part of global HIV-prevention efforts.

"With the extent of HIV transmission, particularly among young women, I think this could be a tremendous tool," she said.

Abbas urges unity against land grabs

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:16:00 +0000

Tel Aviv announced on Monday that it has officially approved the construction of 366 new flats for Israeli settlers in illegal West Bank colonies.
And Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said that he intends to approve about 84 more soon.
The first new construction that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hawkish government has approved since taking office in March threatens to derail attempts to get Middle East peace efforts back on track.

US President Barack Obama has called on Arab states to normalise relations with Israel in return for a settlement freeze.

But Mr Netanyahu's administration has only agreed to consider an "easing" of settlement construction.
And the Israeli media have suggested that any moratorium would exclude 2,500 homes that are already being built in the West Bank - as well as any building in annexed east Jerusalem.

Amid speculation that some Arab states may answer Mr Obama's call, Palestinian National Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has urged Arab states to unite against further settlement expansion.

During a meeting with Saudi King Abdullah on Sunday night he called for "a firm unified Arab stance in face of Israel."

Mr Abbas's spokesman Nabil Rudeina said that the PNA president described the latest settlement growth as "not just a challenge to the Arabs, but it also destroys the peace efforts of Obama."
The PNA leader reportedly warned that that he would not return to the negotiating table before Tel Aviv called a halt to settlement building.
Mr Abbas has previously threatened that if Israel went ahead with construction, there would be no point in holding the forthcoming three-way meeting between himself, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Obama scheduled for the UN general assembly later this month.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal recently came out against any precipitate Arab move toward normalisation, stressing that recognising Israel in return for Mr Netanyahu's vague talk of easing settlement construction was a "dangerous equation."

And Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa has warned that the organisation would have a "tough reaction" against any member state that was willing to take Israel up on the offer.
Last week the White House released a statement querying the legitimacy of the continuing Israeli expansion of settlements, urging its cessation.

Who won the Afghan elections? The Taliban

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:44:00 +0000

Translated by Henry Crapo

(l'Humanite) The winner of the Afghan election is already known before the ballot boxes are opened: the Taliban.

They are the ones who took front stage during the "electoral campaign" even while the proclaimed purpose of the voting, under supervision of US and NATO troops, was to demonstrate the normalization of the country.

Almost eight years after the operation Enduring Freedom, which was to have been the reply to the attacks of 11 September 2001, felling the hydra in her cave and liberating the Afghan people from obscurantism, the terrorists are once again at the gates of Kabul and the dogmas of another age are once again the law of the land for an immense majority of this tortured population.

The strategic fiasco of Washington and its western allies is complete. The choice of war constitutes a "perilous mechanism", as we wrote in our columns as of 12 October 2001. It's a question of the logic, an eye for an eye, that renders the user blind, as denounced by those courageous pacifists who demonstrated at that time in the United States. The desolation sowed by the bombings, the errors of which the civilian populations were victim, the disdain with regard to the sovereignty of the Afghans, have permitted the tyrants, one hated, to realize a truly sinister come-back, usurping the role of resistants to a foreign occupation.

The choice to short-circuit the Bonn conference in November-December 2001 - an attempt by the UN to produce a political solution founded on conciliation among the actors of the Afghan society in all their diversity, including democratic forces, lay members of society, women's associations - opened the way for a terrible turn of events. We opted for a settlement relying on a group of insurgent Islamists having as their sole merit an opposition to the Taliban. We promoted the sulfurous Hamid Karzai, for whose reelection the voting today was planned. This person was, in his time, the intermediary between the former Taliban establishment and the US company Unocal, which wished to install a pipeline that would permit the transport, through Afghanistan, of some of the precious petroleum resources in the Caucasus to the port of Karachi, in Pakistan.

The warlike methods of Washington and its allies were thus, we understood, never really dictated by the need to export democracy to Afghanistan. The country had the bad luck to be situated in a strategic zone for energy resources on the borders of Russia and China.

President Obama is wrong not to have turned away from his initial war option. Worse, he practices a retreat forward by invoking a just war (in comparison with that against Iraq) in order to justify the sending of 21 thousand additional soldiers and the intensification of bombings in neighboring Pakistan. In doing so, he sets in motion another infernal machine of the very terrorism he claims to combat.

Before it's too late, before the nightmarish prospect of a Taliban return becomes an even more distinct probability, he should, ion the contrary, draw clear lessons from this failure. The majority of public opinion has already done so. The majority of the British and the French, according to recent polls, are now in favor of a withdrawal of troops sent by their respective countries. Really to emerge from the quagmire, we have to return to the UN position, in the spirit of the Bonn conference. To look for a real political solution, complex as it must be, with the Afghan actors, with increased investment of resources in development for the population, calling, if need be, on blue-helmeted UN forces, but only in the interest of securing the process of development.