People Before Profit blog

Haiti, five months after quake, aid slow to show

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:40:00 +0000

Although $5.3 billion in immediate aid was pledged to help Haiti after its Jan. 12 near-apocalyptic earthquake, only two percent, or $45 million, has been donated. Brazil was the first and only country to have donated -- $40 million -- to the reconstruction effort. It was joined by Norway - with $5 million -- earlier this month.

The island is full of nongovernmental organizations and other assistance groups working diligently on the micro-level to help Haitians rebuild their country and lives. However, macro-reconstruction aid on the state-level is incredibly slow.

The Haitian government estimates more than 300,000 people died from the disaster. Millions are homeless at the start of hurricane season. This hard-to-imagine scenario is on top of pre-quake conditions of deep poverty, environmental disasters, political instability and decades of foreign invasion and interference.

Jacqueline Cherilus, a fourth-year medical student at Université Lumière in Port-au-Prince, is still sleeping under a tarp with her family. Cherilus said tents and tarps are insufficient.

"We need construction. You see how strong the rains are becoming? Tents can't resist that rain. How long can we live in tents and tarps? You can't live for two or three years under a tarp. We need houses. We're going to have hurricanes soon and flooding," she told Truthout authors Beverly Bell and Laura Wagner.

Last week, a U.S. Senate report painted a bleak picture of millions displaced from their homes, while rubble and collapsed buildings still dominate the landscape.

Construction is held up by land disputes, tropical storms and other delays, the reports says, while plans for moving people out of tent-and-tarp settlements remain "in early draft form."

The report puts the blame on donor "disagreements" and Haitian government officials.

The United States seems to be part of the donor disagreements. The U.S. pledged some $1.2 billion in immediate aid at a UN conference in March, where $5.3 billion from a number of sources was pledged. Congress is now debating whether to release that aid.

Former President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive are heading up the effort to raise the $5.3 billion. The World Bank is overseeing the effort.

But "rich" countries may be backing off their pledges for help because of the deep and long economic crisis. After the recent Group of 20 summit in Toronto, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that rich countries may attempt to balance their budget shortfalls on the "back's of the poorest people."

While nations may slash their deficits, Ban warned they still had to honor their commitments on Haiti.

On June 17, Clinton joined forces with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and Canadian mining magnate Frank Giustra to announce a mere $20 million investment fund that will finance Haitian small businesses. The fund will seek a "return on its investments," which will be reinvested in the fund, according to reports.

At the same time, PM Bellerive trekked around South Florida drumming up investors and touting the opportunities in Haiti's textile industry. He trumpeted Haiti's Nov. 28 presidential and parliamentary elections, even though all voter infrastructure has been destroyed. He also took issue with the criticisms of the Haitian government in the U.S. Senate report.

Haitian union leaders have criticized the donor efforts, charging financial and foreign interests are calling the shots in reconstruction. Labor activists in Haiti, Canada and the United States also warn that donor money has to invest in good jobs - not back to sweatshop conditions so prevalent in the pre-quake days.

Truthout reports that much of the aid pledged may never arrive. "A lot of it has gone straight back to donor nations, as with the $.40 on every U.S. government aid dollar that paid for the U.S. military presence in Haiti for, at least, the first two months after the quake."

The U.S. sent 20,000 troops to Haiti immediately after the quake. The troops have been cutback to 6,000 presently.

Meanwhile, Venezuela announced June 2 at a conference on Haiti in the Dominican Republic that it would cancel Haiti's $395 million debt with Petrocaribe.

Petrocaribe is Venezuela's program which offers discounted oil, to be paid back over long-term low-interest loans, to Caribbean and Central American nations.

Venezuela's Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said $198 million from the debt is available for direct investment in Haiti's health and education projects.

Cuba has continued its medical assistance directly to Haiti. Both countries are critical of the World Bank-supervised donor effort.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez announced in March the socialist nation promised primary care for 2.8 million of Haiti's 9.3 million people.

Since the earthquake, Cuba reports, 23 primary care health centers, 15 referral hospitals, and 21 rehabilitation facilities are "up and running." Over 260,000 patients have been cared for, 7,000 operations performed, and 1,400 babies delivered.

Cuba promised a "Haitian National Specialties Hospital" to train Haitian doctors as their replacements.

Photo: Marco Dormino/UN/CC

The vuvuzela, African culture and spirit of football: notes from the Edge

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:54:00 +0000

RUSTENBERG, South Africa -- The vuvuzela horns are destined to be one of the lasting remembrances of the 2010 World Cup held here in South Africa. The name for the horn is from the Zulu term "make noise" and indeed it's hard to imagine a better term than this for the loud instruments have been raising the roof off the stadiums in South Africa for the last few decades.

A similar instrument, known as the corneta, is used in Brazil and other Latin American countries.

The vuvuzela was created by members of the Nazareth Baptist church around 1910. The religion was started by Isaiah Shembe and combines both Christian and African cultural traditions as reflected in the Zulu tribe.

To the noise of the horn, the Shembe followers each year walk barefoot for a three day pilgrimage from Durban to their holy mountain, Nhlangakazi, in homage to their founding father who they consider to be an African prophet with extraordinary healing powers on a higher level than Jesus.

Of course the religious connotations of the vuvuzela's have led to controversies. "Football is stealing pleasure from Shembe. When people are playing football and hearing the vuvuzela, they are getting the power of our holy spirit" one follower noted.

Indeed the vuvuzela reflects a spirit of football within Africa that is difficult to contemplate from the staid confines of Europe or the U.S.A. The horns have been controversial but in refusing to ban them from the games, to his credit, FIFA President Sepp Blatter responded, "We should not try to Europeanize an African World Cup ... that is what African and South Africa football is all about - noise, excitement, dancing, shouting and enjoyment."

One can be a bit ambivalent about the vuvuzela horns but the Shembe church is being paid royalties for the use of their unique invention by the manufacturers, and even some of my most reserved friends in the posh suburbs of Pretoria find time to blow them in joyous revelry every chance they get.

On the other hand, during the match between Ghana and Australia I watched an amazing scene. As I sat in the midst of fans from both clubs the Australians who were mostly white and the Ghanaians who were mostly black, I saw a small boy of eight or nine years in the row in front of me who was nonplused by the action on the field but fascinated by the crowd around him. The boy wore huge sunglasses, a makarapa hat decorated in the colors of Ghana, and held a vuvuzela horn in hand. His parents, white South Africans, were cheering for Ghana. During the early part of the match the parents periodically rose or cheered as the action flowed on the field. The boy watched inattentively. Then a few of the locals came into the stands and occupied the seats directly below him and a couple of them had vuvuzelas, which they proceeded to blow wholeheartedly. As the vuvuzela horns blew almost as one, the crowd of Ghanaian supporters became animated. Some of the men beat their drums, the women began to dance and the boy looked over at his dad who signaled that it was ok, so the boy joined in and blew his vuvuzela.

Not to be outdone the Australian fans blew their vuvuzelas and cheered on their team. For the next hour the kid was lively and had the time of this life. By the end of the game I doubt that the boy knew the score but he had had a blast. He had shared one of life's bright moments a 2010 World Cup football game on a day to remember with mom and dad.

Although the Africans have only one team, the Black Stars of Ghana, left in this World Cup and I am closely linked to Ghana through many friends and relatives, as an African Americans I am going to be cheering for the USA and damn the consequences. I almost went hoarse on Wednesday evening cheering for the USA and I'll shout and blow my vuvuzela's to the rafters this evening rooting for them again. It's gonna be an uphill battle for the U.S. team but no matter who wins let the games continue.

World Cup musings: word from the Edge

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:32:00 +0000

PRETORIA, South Africa -- The first round of the 2010 football World Cup games is complete and as usual full of surprises. For the first time in the history of the games the host nation has been eliminated in the first round as South Africa bowed out in a valiant but futile 2 -1 win over France. One could say that the absence of the host led to a kind of depression but this would miss the point entirely because the games continue the stadiums are full, and Africans love their football. Joy is in the air. South Africa was a long shot indeed to go far in the tournament fore like the thousands of local village teams throughout the world a couple of stars emerged from the South African squad but they were never expected to be much of a challenge to the Brazilians, the Argentines, and as it turned out the Uruguayans.

Many a South African had nightmarish dreams chasing the brilliant Mexican forward Dos Santos about the field.

There are some who would say that the poverty continues and the stadium shall be empty after the games, but they would miss the point. No one in the world ever said poverty would be eliminated if South Africa hosted the World Cup, that's ridiculous. South Africa remains a deeply impoverished nation. Indeed there are pockets of extreme wealth, yet the vast majority of the population lives a precarious existence, struggling with lives challenges as best they can.

Fifteen years after the apartheid government was vanquished here we are still confronted with far, far too many remnants of destitutions. Behind the façade of painted fences and walls throughout the country, tin houses dot the landscape and serve as a reminder that the dreams of our living heroes like Mandela and the fallen warriors like Biko and Thambo of an equitable distribution of the wealth and an improvement in the standard of living for the vast majority of the people of the land have not been realized.

As the song goes our condition in South Africa is "Not Yet Uhuru." Uhuru means freedom and liberation, freedom and liberation not just from the agonies of apartheid but from poverty and economic oppression. South Africa is a developmental state like Uruguay, Paraguay, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Botswana. One makes a great error in thinking that these states, which have segments of industrial, and social infrastructure, are in fact comparable to the advanced economies of the West.

A new road or a stadium does not indicate the transformation of society and far too many of our children and elders die each day for lack of access to adequate medical care whose cost are prohibitive to the middle class and the vast majority of working people.

The idea of having the World Cup in South Africa was intended to show soccer lovers everywhere that we are ready to host a major sporting event and hope that people who come for the games shall tell their friends about the wonderful sights and sounds they encountered during their journey to Africa, the motherland of humanity.

In this encouraging of football lovers to come to South Africa for the games we have opened up a new window into the world. Sports, and football in particular, is a type of universal language. In football one cannot restrict or confine the players and fans to any social class, racial, religious, or ethnic group. When you're watching the match it makes no difference if the person next to you is the president of a country, a worker, or a peasant who won a ticket at the lottery you're all enthralled at the joyous fluidity of the sport as it unfolds before your eyes. The vuvuzela horns were like a wall of sound encouraging the teams forward every step of the way.

Now, having laid in the befuddling tales of woe about football and society, the game between the USA and Algeria was a wonder to behold. The boys pulled out a victory from the jaws of defeat gaining a life saving 1-0 victory in the dying seconds of the match, and moving into the next stage of the tournament. We danced and sang deep into the night.

Photo: Axel Buhrmann/CC

Poor People’s World Cup stresses South Africa’s anti-poverty fight

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:41:00 +0000

As the FIFA World Cup 2010 attracts soccer fans worldwide, another tournament in South Africa is also gaining international attention: the Poor People's World Cup in Cape Town.

The local tournament was organized by the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign (AEC). Running parallel with the FIFA games, it aims to highlight the province's struggle against rampant poverty and homelessness.

Speaking to CNN, AEC coordinator Ashraf Cassiem said, "It's a platform created by poor people, for poor people, to expose the evictions and displacements affecting poor people in a negative way."

Cassiem said, "Everybody is crazy excited about it. More than 1,500 turned up despite a lack of transport for fans or communities. People here are real crazy about soccer but won't get the opportunity to participate in the real FIFA World Cup."

Organizers say the games are a way to protest what they call the exclusion of poor communities from the FIFA games and the negative impact of the World Cup on the poor and homeless. Most South Africans are not benefiting from the official World Cup, they add.

AEC activists say the FIFA World Cup excludes the poor with high-priced tickets people cannot afford. The cheapest tickets cost $20, which is more than some people earn in a week.

The FIFA World Cup also forces many out of work because street vendors are not allowed to sell their merchandise near the official stadiums. Activists also claim that poor South Africans, especially the homeless, have been moved to "temporary relocation centers" to be hidden from visiting soccer tourists.

The Poor People's World Cup features 36 teams representing over 40 different communities from the Cape Town area, allowing them to play the one thing they like most: soccer.

The free three-week event kicked off June 13. The games are being played at a field next to Athlone stadium in Cape Town and the final games will be played on June 27.

The competing teams have been named after most countries in the FIFA games but also include teams named Haiti, Somalia, Palestine and Zimbabwe.

Organizers note this tournament is not only for soccer teams and fans, but also for the whole community and for the people who struggle every day against water and electricity cut-offs and against evictions from their homes and working places.

It's not right that poor South Africans continue to suffer, while the rich are enjoying themselves in the expensive stadiums at the expense of the poor, activists charge.

In contrast to the FIFA World Cup, organizers of the Poor People's World Cup say their tournament is for the poor communities by the poor communities that will not exploit or marginalize people but rather involve them and create new spaces of exposure and participation.

Activists say the South African government should do more to provide better housing for the poor rather than spending millions on new soccer stadiums for the FIFA games.

They express the hope that soccer tourists and official FIFA teams find the time to visit the Poor People's World Cup as a way to see what's really happening in South Africa.

Photo: The under-nines team from Hanover Park on the opening day of the Poor People's World Cup. (Anti-Eviction Campaign)

Bloody Sunday massacre: Unjustified and unjustifiable

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:23:00 +0000

(Morning Star) British Prime Minister David Cameron has apologized unreservedly to the families of those killed on Bloody Sunday saying the action of troops was "unjustified and unjustifiable."

The Saville Report into the 1972 massacre in Derry (Northern Ireland) found that the British army had fired first and that none of those killed or wounded were armed or had done anything which could have justified their deaths or injuries.

Lord Saville also stated that several soldiers had knowingly given false evidence in a bid to justify their actions.

Commenting on the publication Cameron said the law lord's findings were "unequivocal."

He said: "I am deeply patriotic and I never want to believe anything bad about this country. But the conclusions of the report are absolutely clear. There is no doubt, no ambiguity."

Cameron told the Commons that the inquiry had established that none of the casualties posed any threat to British troops.

He said the inquiry found that the first shots had been fired by British troops, no warnings had been given and that some of the soldiers had lost control.

Lord Saville also found that the order issued by Colonel Derek Wilford that sent British soldiers into the Bogside "should not have been given."

The Prime Minister said the report found that none of those killed by British soldiers had been armed with firearms and that no warning had been given by the soldiers.

The casualties were down to the soldiers "losing their self-control," said Cameron, adding that he was "deeply, deeply sorry."

Lord Saville also noted that a number of soldiers had "knowingly put forward false accounts."

Shortly before 4pm on Sunday January 30 1972, British troops opened fire in Derry's bogside, signalling the beginning of one of the most notorious massacres in British and Irish history.

At 4:07 p.m. soldiers from 1 Para, led by Major Ted Loden, had entered William Street in a snatch operation. But they had been told not to engage in a running battle down Rossville Street.

At 4:10 p.m. the soldiers had opened fire in the area of the Rossville flats.

In the ensuing slaughter Jackie Duddy, Pat Doherty, Barney McGuigan, Hugh Gilmour, Kevin McElhinney, Michael Kelly, John Young, William Nash and Michael McDaid, James Wray, Gerald Donaghey, Gerald McKinney and William McKinney were killed.

Twenty-one soldiers had fired in the massacre, expending 108 rounds in total. The army claimed it had come under fire in the Rossville flats area, allegedly by the Provisional IRA. Yesterday that lie was firmly rejected by the Saville Inquiry.

There were jubilant scenes in Guildhall Square in Derry as families who have fought for 38 years for justice addressed a huge crowd of supporters.

Mickey McKinney, whose brother Willie was murdered that day, said: "Willie McKinney was murdered by British paratroopers on Bloody Sunday. This is an historic day for Derry."

Liam Wray, whose brother Jim had been shot twice by soldiers, once while lying mortally wounded on the ground, said Lord Saville had found there was no justification for either of the two shots.

Tony Doherty, whose father Patrick was shot and killed, told the crowd: "The victims of Bloody Sunday have been vindicated. The parachute regiment has been disgraced. The truth has been brought home at last."

Reposted from Morning Star.

Photo: The crowd carries pictures of the victims of the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre while they march through Londonderry, Northern Ireland, to the Guildhall where relatives of those killed on Bloody Sunday saw the first copies of the Saville Inquiry report June 15. Thirteen civilians killed on Bloody Sunday died as a result of "unjustifiable firing" by British soldiers, the long-awaited report found. More than 1,000 Londonderry residents applauded, hugged and cried outside city hall as the long-awaited verdict was announced live on a huge television screen. (AP/ Julien Behal/PA)

Japan’s new prime minister vows strong economy - but for whom?

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:22:00 +0000

TOKYO - Prime Minister Kan Naoto in his first policy speech on June 13 stated that his new Cabinet will "bring about a ‘strong economy,' ‘robust public finances' and a ‘strong social security system' in an integrated manner."

We now see both Japan's economy and national finances in a weak condition, and the general public has the earnest desire to have the government strengthen them.

In the economy, public finances and social security, the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party)-Komei governments kept giving out wrong "prescriptions," which made conditions increasingly worse. What the new government should do now is, therefore, to provide new prescriptions and get rid of the cause of the disease that seriously damaged our country in these areas.

‘A third way'

In the policy speech, Kan emphasized he will pursue a "third way" that he said is different from the political direction of previous governments. However, when he talks about a "strong economy," "robust public finances" and a "strong social security," it is only a higher consumption tax rate and lower corporate taxes that the Prime Minister is attempting to achieve. This clearly indicates that the new DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan)-led government will keep the same course as that the previous DPJ-led government and the former LDP-Komei governments took.

In fact, while describing their "growth strategy" at a press conference on June 9, Naoshima Masayuki, minister of economy, trade and industry, said, "The corporate tax rate needs to be lowered about 15 percent. To begin with, we will reduce it by five percent in the next fiscal year." Hosono Goshi, acting secretary general of the DPJ, on June 11 also announced the party will include "cutting corporate taxes" as one of its campaign promises for the upcoming House of Councilors election. In addition, Finance Minister Noda Yoshihiko on June 8 explained that the Prime Minister's pledge for a "drastic reform of the country's tax system" "will obviously be applied to the consumption tax."

According to the policy speech, the government will pursue a growth strategy by curbing wasteful expenditures and stabilizing social services through a sound national finance resulting from tax system reform with the result of promising relief to those in need.

This scenario, however, seems to be a "pie in the sky." On the Futenma base issue for the U.S. forces, the government will increase the huge enormous military budget to construct a large military base at Henoko in Nago City at the U.S. request instead of reducing the military budget. Far from correcting excessive tax breaks for large corporations and the very rich, the government is planning a further tax cut for large corporations. The government is going to increase wasteful spending, and no sound finance and elimination of wastes are possible unless the military budget and tax cuts for large corporations and the rich are redressed.

The substance of the DPJ "growth strategy" looks just like that of the Liberal Democratic-Komei government: increasing the gap between the extremely rich and the rest of society.

The pension system that the DPJ is proposing as part of social services reform is thinly disguised a mechanism to shift the cost of pension premiums borne by large corporations to the general public by increasing the consumption tax rate. The government is going to maintain the discriminatory medical service system for elderly people aged 75 and over for another three years, thus breaking the DPJ public promise to abolish the discriminatory system. What is worse, the government is going to lower the age of applicability to 65, thus expanding the scope of the system. It is the quickest way to increase social unrest, not relief.

On June 8, soon after the new DPJ leadership was established, Secretary General Edano Yukio and acting Secretary General Hosono Goshi paid a courtesy visit to the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren). Hosono stated that the DPJ is preparing a growth strategy in accordance with the demands of Nippon Keidanren.

Party that can speak for people against business circles

If "strong economy, national finance, and social services" mean a strong and reliable government representing the interests of business circles and large corporations, nothing good can be expected for the general public.

The DPJ government, just as the LDP-Komei government, gives priority to the interests of business circles and large corporations over the concerns of people's living conditions.

The key to defend people's livelihoods and gain a sound economic recovery is installing a government that can stand up to the self-centered interests of the United States and the Japanese business circles.

Reposted from Japan Press Service.

Photo: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, June 21. (AP/Shizuo Kambayashi)

World Notes: Palestine, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Angola, Honduras, Iceland

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:42:00 +0000

Palestine: Amnesty International diagnoses collective punishment

Amnesty International reacted to Israel's decision June 17 to allow more civilian goods into Gaza by condemning that nation's continuing siege of 1.4 million Gazans as collective punishment. Quoted by IMEMC News, Amnesty spokesperson Malcolm Smart called upon Israel to "comply with its obligations as the occupying power under international law." He criticized Israel also for destroying Gaza's economy through barriers placed on exports of goods and free movement of residents. Interference with Gazans seeking medical care outside the enclave was seen as particularly odious, a point reinforced by the World Health Organization's condemnation the next day of non-functioning medical equipment at Gaza City's Ash-Shifa Hospital. The blockade excludes spare parts and servicing engineers.

Cambodia: Garment workers plan big strike

Despite Labor Minister Vong Soth's plea two weeks earlier to delay strike action pending completion of negotiations, the Free Trade Union of Workers, representing 86,000 garment workers, on June 15 announced a three-day strike in mid-July. The union is demanding a monthly minimum wage increase from $50 to $70, according to phnompenhpost.com. Union head Chea Mony asserted, "All the workers should raise their voices in order to achieve a reasonable salary and better conditions for work." An Interior Ministry spokesperson warned of legal consequences if the strike leads to violence. The potential strike is also aimed at supporting 87 workers unable to work at the Tack Fat garment factory following their refusal to accept in-factory job transfers.

Uzbekistan: Summit promotes Russia-China cooperation

The June 11 summit meeting in Tashkent of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was the occasion for solidifying relations between Russia and China. In their third encounter this year, Presidents Hu Jintao and Dmitri Medvedev reaffirmed plans for humanitarian and cultural exchanges, widened commercial ties, and Medvedev's upcoming visit to China. SCO member nations China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan agreed to new internal administrative measures and to procedures for admitting new member states. The summit reaffirmed collective efforts aimed at dealing with the world economic crisis and promoting regional stability and economic development. Representatives of Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran attended as observers. Afghan President Hamid Karzai was an invited guest.

Angola: Oil riches fuel social gains

A recent nationwide survey, undertaken by the government and UNICEF and reported by Afrol News on June 15, showed progress toward five of eight Millennium Development Goals: malnutrition; education; gender balance; child survival and malaria; and HIV/AIDS. Since 2002, malnutrition is down 12 points to 23 percent, and 76 percent of age-appropriate children attend school, although primary school completion rates lag. Maternal mortality remains high, and only 42 percent of people have access to safe drinking water, a backward step. Angola, ranking 143rd out of 158 nations in the UN 2009 Human Development Report is criticized for corruption in oil income distribution. Some 30 percent of governmental spending, derived overwhelmingly from oil exports, is now dedicated to social programs.

Honduras: Violence mounts

Outside Tegucigalpa on June 14, gunmen killed television reporter Luis Arturo Mondragon, the ninth journalist killed this year. Attempts on her life forced television journalist Karol Cabrera to escape to Canada a week earlier. Amidst agitation by public sector workers for wage increases and a national minimum wage, two men gunned down Oscar Molina, a beverage union leader's brother-in-law, on June 10. In mid-June, gunfire spared labor leaders Carolina Pineda and José Luis Baquedano, the latter active with the National Resistance Front. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier in June had urged Latin American leaders to accept the present government, successor to that of coup-deposed Manuel Zaleya, a "left-leaning president," according to The New York Times.

Iceland: Fraud investigators have worldwide beat

Following collapse of the Icelandic Banks Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir in 2008, proprietors and directors have lived abroad. Parliament last month blamed them for extracting "inappropriate loans from the banks," reported estrategumtrading.com on June 14. Alleging theft of $2 billion, Glitner Bank liquidation overseers are suing former bank officers for fraud in a New York court. They are also targeting auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers for obscuring fraudulent transactions. The worldwide assets of former bank director Jon Asgeir Johannesson have been frozen, among them two top-end New York City condominiums worth $25 million. And former President Sigurdur Einarsson of Kaupthing Bank "does not intend to return to Iceland so they can arrest him," preferring instead to reply on rights afforded him in Great Britain.

Photo: Chinese President Hu Jintao, fifth left, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, third right, meet on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 10. (AP/RIA Novosti, Vladimir Rodionov, Presidential Press Service)

Stalemate on the Rhine and quagmire in Berlin

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:56:00 +0000

Things are really happening in Germany! Like many others, I predicted that the federal government, an unhappy coalition of right-wing Christian Democrats led by Angela Merkel and her even more big-biz-friendly junior partners, the FDP (Free Democrats), would wait for a key election in the giant state of North-Rhine Westphalia on May 9 and then start beating the heads of all but the wealthy. That, no surprise, is exactly what happened! But two big surprises might just alter the picture.

That key election along the Rhine and Ruhr turned out a stalemate which became a gridlock (to mix metaphors). The two ruling parties there, the same ones running the country (into the ground, one might add), took a well-deserved beating. But the Social Democrats and their friends the Greens fell one seat short of a majority in the legislature. That meant lots of bargaining under the many-party coalition system so unfamiliar to most Americans. As in many a gossip column, the big question was, who was going with whom?

At first the SPD (Social Democrats) closed the door on a coalition with the young party, the Left, which had just broken into the state political scene with 5.6 percent of the vote, and more than enough seats to provide a majority. But the SPD and the Greens feared red-baiting. In their negotiations they insisted on so many demeaning questions on how fiercely those representing the Left were willing to attack the long-dead German Democratic Republic (East Germany) that the latter finally refused to bow any lower, seeing this as a ploy to blame a failure on them. Ironically, few if any of these western Left members had anything at all to do with the GDR.

The next try was to join with the far-right FDP. But the gaps were just too wide. So the SPD tried to hook up with the Christian Democrats, although that party, with one more seat than the SPD (sans Greens), meant that the same man would head the next government who headed the outgoing one. Worse still, it would preserve a right-wing majority in the upper house nationally (the Bundesrat, somewhat like the U.S. Senate). Merkel could then push through all the nasty laws she wanted with little opposition. This would have been a real betrayal of all the promises Social Democrats had made in the election campaign. But as it turned out, neither side was willing to make the required compromises and even that fell through.

Now, in a sudden switch, Hannelore Kraft, the head of the state SPD, chose what was really the only remaining option. She will try to rule with the Greens despite the lack of a majority. This is permissible but shaky; its life as a government depends on a few delegates from other parties supporting it on every important vote. If they don't, the whole fragile structure will collapse, possibly meaning new elections which nobody wants.

The government can stay on successfully if it proposes and supports legislation agreeable to its own election promises and to the Left, a party which only just began its political life along the Rhine. Many view this as a satisfactory situation, at least for people in that area who hope for better schools, free university education, more help for hard-hit local communities and, above all, jobs!

This is especially important because of the expected offensive by Angela Merkel. One week ago her CDU and the FDP announced economic plans for the years ahead. Of course, they blamed the dire economic situation, and said that "we" had lived beyond our means and therefore "we" must tighten our belts. Millions of jobless or underpaid workers wondered who, when and how they had lived beyond their means. But who was meant by "we" when it came to belt-tightening was more than clear. Financial assistance to parents for each child would no longer be paid to the jobless; "they already get subsistence aid." The money to pay heating expenses would also be taken away from them; "they got rent money already." Employment agencies to help the jobless find work would also be cut drastically. Plans for increasing the amount paid for medical care are not yet finessed, but on the drafting boards. Yet all demands to increase the pitifully low taxes on the extremely wealthy, on major corporations and on wealthy heirs were roundly rejected according to that old rule: you must give the race horse enough oats and even the sparrows will have it better - in the end.

Similar plans were announced all over Europe, first in Greece and then elsewhere. The same excuses, the same lopsided plans, and soon the same old bonuses for the bankers.

The plans were a shock. In Germany some militant unions joined left-wing parties in demonstrations in Berlin and Stuttgart. Their slogan: "We won't pay for your crisis!" Ten or twenty thousand turned out, too many to be ignored by the media, but not nearly enough to really shake things up.

But that other event shook things up more than expected. After the surprise resignation of President Horst Koehler, at least in part because he told the truth about the true economic reasons for sending troops to Afghanistan, the two coalition partners agreed on a candidate: the Christian Democratic head of the government in Lower Saxony, Christian Wulff. He is good-looking and has a harmless reputation, despite the usual one-sided steps influenced by the mighty Volkswagen company in his bailiwick. Since the two parties, CDU and FDP, have a majority in the huge legislative body called together to choose a president, things were expected to go smoothly.

But then the SPD and the Greens took a step bordering on genius, something not always expected of them. As an opposition candidate they chose Joachim Gauck, who for 10 years after the demise of the GDR administered the files on its Stasi, or State Security. Since nearly anyone with any position of even minor responsibility and many without had had some relationship with the Stasi, this was a wide field. Some had done some nasty spying and snooping, others had been hardly reprehensible, but Gauck and his bureau were able to ruin the careers and often the lives of countless people. And did. Yet they received so much good publicity in West and East Germany, with the Stasi question constantly used in political situations, that he was assured of lots of votes.

All the parties were hit by dissension about this man, whose manner and actions are in many ways reminiscent of Joe McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover rolled together. Enough CDU and FDP electors may switch sides to give him a majority or, failing that, the needed plurality in the third vote. The Left chose a third candidate, a woman who was once prominent in West German TV, and though she can get only a limited number of votes, the divisive question has arisen as to what her backers should do in the possibly decisive third vote. Thus, the nomination of Gauck is splitting every single party.

And what is more important than the result of a vote for president, who has little more power than the British queen: If Gauck should beat Angela Merkel's candidate this would mean such a loss of prestige for Frau Merkel and her partners that the whole coalition government, now extremely unpopular, might get dragged down in a bitter quagmire. And no one can really guess what would follow then. There is talk of reviving the old Christian Democratic-Social Democratic coalition which got Germany into its economic mess in the first place. Don't make any bets!

Photo: North Rhine Westphalia's Social Democratic party chairwoman Hannelore Kraft, left, and Green party top candidate Sylvia Loehrmann, tell the press about their plans to built minority government in North Rhine Westphalia, June 17. (AP/apn/Mark Keppler)

Rwanda releases U.S. lawyer Erlinder

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:03:00 +0000

Progressive U.S. lawyer Peter Erlinder has been freed from jail in Rwanda and may be returning to the United States within the next few days.

Erlinder was detained on May 28 on charges of "genocide ideology," which in the central African nation carries a sentence of up to 27 years in jail. Erlinder was hospitalized several times during detention as his health deteriorated. At one point, the Rwandan government claimed he attempted suicide.

The treatment of Erlinder drew international condemnation of Rwanda, where intimidation and harassment of political opponents, usually justified by accusations of genocide denial by the government, is well-documented by human rights groups.

Nearly one million Rwandans were massacred and millions more displaced in the 1994 genocide which also led to the seizure of power by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) whose leader, Paul Kagame, continues to rule Rwanda with an iron fist.

Erlinder is leader of defense lawyers representing those standing trial for the genocide at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. He also is a professor at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul and a former president of the National Lawyers Guild. Erlinder has a stellar record of taking on death penalty, police misconduct and terrorism cases - what the mainstream media often refers to as "unpopular cases."

At the Arusha tribunal, he is defending a senior Rwandan army officer accused of directing death squads. The Rwandan government argues that Erlinder's writings and speeches could "instigate riots" and "civil disobediences." It claims Erlinder is not being charged because of his work at the tribunal, but most observers are skeptical of that assertion.

The ICTR sent a letter to Rwandan government officials earlier this week reminding them that as a lawyer of the court Erlinder enjoys "immunity from legal process of every kind" and therefore must be released. The letter also pointed out that the Rwandan prosecutor at Erlinder's hearing on June 7, at which he was denied bail, quoted Erlinder's statements at the tribunal as evidence against him.

In solidarity, 11 defense lawyers in Arusha requested that the ICTR postpone their cases. One lawyer was held in contempt and could face years in jail for unilaterally withdrawing from the court. A majority of Erlinder's colleagues also signed a petition saying they would not work unless their security was guaranteed.

While activists are relieved by the news of Erlinder's release, they are demanding that Rwanda drop all charges against him. As current NLG president David Gespass explained, "Peter's release and, we trust, his return home are victories we will savor, but they will remain incomplete until all charges are dismissed and the Rwandan government provides assurances its unlawful conduct will not be repeated, either against Peter or any other ICTR defense counsel."

Rwandan prosecutors are planning to proceed with the case against Erlinder. His Rwandan defense lawyers said Erlinder is willing to return to Rwanda if needed.

Besides his work with the ICTR, Erlinder is representing Rwanda's leading opposition presidential candidate, Victoire Ingabire, who returned to Rwanda earlier this year after 16 years of exile in the Netherlands. Her passport has been seized by the government and she is banned from traveling outside the capital of Kigali.

Ingabire, the leader of United Democratic Forces, stands accused of Orwelian crimes such as being a "genocide negationist" and, like Erlinder, spreading "genocide ideology." She faces 20 years or more in prison if she is found guilty. The charges were sparked by Ingabire's suggestion that atrocities were committed by the ruling party. She also questioned what she believed to be the one-sided representation of the genocide by the government.

In the midst of an economic and political crisis in Rwanda, the genocide was carried out by Hutus against Tutsis as well as many other Hutu. The media usually refers to those Hutu victims as "moderates" in contrast to the Hutu extremists of the then-ruling party and the militias known as the Interahamwe. In the midst of this slaughter, the Tutsi-dominated RPF, supported by neighboring Uganda, took power and the Hutu militias fled into neighboring Congo.

Kagame's regime is dominated by Tutsis, who make up a minority in both Rwanda and neighboring Burundi, which shares a history of mass killings. As with many conflicts in Africa, the origins of the Rwandan genocide can be traced back to European colonial rule when first the Germans, and then with even more diligence the Belgians, forcibly labeled Rwandans either "Hutu" or "Tutsi." Steeped in the racist concepts of the colonial era, they portrayed the Tutsi monarchy as more "noble" and "civilized" than the Hutu commoners. While in the past Hutu and Tutsi were malleable identities correlating to feudalistic economic and political relations, they became fixed ethnic categories during colonialism setting the stage for political tensions at independence in 1962 and ever since.

It is widely believed Kagame has a personal animosity towards Erlinder. In April, Erlinder helped file a lawsuit in Oklahoma accusing the Rwandan president of sparking the genocide by ordering the deaths of the former presidents of Rwanda and Burundi. The mass killings began right after their plane was shot down by rockets in April 1994 and conflicting theories about who was responsible for their assassination abound. The Rwandan government denies the accusation, maintaining that it was the Hutu planners and organizers of the genocidal killings who murdered the presidents.

Kagame and other Rwandan officials also were accused in 2006 by a French prosecutor of carrying out the attack. Rwanda in turn accused France of complacency because of its backing of the previous Hutu-dominated government. In a visit to Rwanda in February, French President Nicolas Sarkozy attempted to mend relations saying his country had made serious mistakes over the genocide.

Kagame's government has not been fully supportive of the ICTR, arguing that the victims of the genocide should try those responsible without foreign involvement. Indeed, his regime set up so-called traditional community courts, known as gacacas, throughout the country to try Rwandans accused of genocide. Twenty-seven senior officials have been convicted at the Arusha tribunal, but the Rwandan government has criticized the slow pace of the proceedings and the fact that some suspects have been acquitted. The work of the ICTR nearly came to a standstill in 2002 when the court suggested it may investigate crimes against humanity committed by Kagame's RPF. In protest, Rwanda stopped sending witnesses to Arusha, forcing the court to relent.

Despite numerous reports by human rights organizations criticizing the Rwandan government, Kagame remains a close ally of the West, particularly the United States, and the recipient of favorable coverage in the capitalist media. Human rights groups assert the government restricts news, imprisons journalists, and attacks political opponents. In this climate of intimidation and harassment, Rwandans are expected to vote in presidential elections scheduled for August 9.

Photo: Peter Erlinder via RNW

Video: Mexican soccer legend celebrates World Cup

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:39:00 +0000

CHICAGO - Pavel Pardo, soccer legend from Mexico, who helped the North American team qualify for this year's World Cup, joined hundreds of Mexico fans at a viewing party here June 11. On opening day of the world's most popular tournament, Mexico competed against South Africa in the much-anticipated Game One of the 2010 World Cup, which is being hosted in South Africa. In Chicago Chi-Town Futbol, a large indoor soccer gym located in the predominantly Mexican community of Pilsen on the city's southwest side, hosted the viewing party. The game ended in a 1-1 tie. Pardo played in the 2006 games and is an active player with Club America in Mexico City.

World Notes: Spain, Nigeria, Israel, Venezuela, China, Cuba

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:02:00 +0000

Spain: Workers reject government austerity policies

Some 2.3 million public service workers staged a one-day strike June 8 against government austerity measures due to take effect on June 16. "Why should we pay for the worldwide financial crisis?" one asked, quoted by Timesonline.co.uk. The International Monetary Fund had prescribed "far-reaching and comprehensive reforms" for bringing last year's budget deficit of 11.2 percent of GDP down to 9.3 percent. Government spending cuts will total $18.4 billion. Civil service salaries are programmed to decrease by 5 percent now and to be frozen next year. Civil servants will no longer benefit from long-term contracts providing benefits like long-term severance payments to laid-off workers. A general strike seemed likely once union-government negotiations failed on June 10.

Nigeria: Poverty, desperation leads to poisoned children

Authorities initially attributed deaths of children in Zamfara state noted by a vaccination team to cerebral malaria. Then a team from Doctors Without Borders studying meningitis documented extremely high blood lead levels among area residents. During May, lead intoxication, disastrous for children, caused over 170 of them to die, leaving hundreds terribly ill. Even symptomless poisoned children suffer neurological and developmental setbacks. Lead dust liberated by rudimentary gold mining operations has been washed into streams and taken into houses. Farmers unable to support their families resorted to illegal mining after gold ore availability was signaled through the government awarding contracts to Chinese mining companies. Reuters quoted Yakubu Ibrahim: "If this mining is no longer possible, what will I do?"

Israel: Hike requested in U.S. military aid

Haaretz newspaper reported June 8 that defense officials visited Washington recently to request more JDAM bomb systems and increased storage in Israel of U.S. military equipment potentially available for Israeli use, depending on U.S. approval. JDAM refers to appliances grafted onto gravity bombs, converting them into guided munitions. Since last December, $600 million worth of U.S. military supplies have been stored in Israel with more expected soon, worth $200 million. The current request is for storage there of additional U.S. supplies valued at $400 million, including rockets, bombs, aircraft ammunition and armored vehicles. The object is to augment resupply capabilities during a regional war triggered by Iran and Hezbollah, one the report says may come soon.

Venezuela: Military spending drops

Venezuelan military spending fell 25 percent last year to $3.3 billion, fifth place in Latin America. Brazil was the top military spender at $27.1 billion, up 16 percent, followed by Colombia at $10.1 billion, up 11 percent. As a percentage of GDP, Colombian expenditure ranked first at 3.7 percent, followed by Ecuador, Brazil, and Venezuela at 2.8, 1.5, and 1.4 percent respectively. The report, released June 2 by Sweden's SIPRI research institute, also indicated that global military spending, up 49 percent since 2000, increased 6 percent during 2009. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela, quoted by Venezuelanalysis.com, recently commented, "The United States is worried about the aggressive discourse and the arms race on the part of the government of Venezuela."

China: Labor demands are being heard

A clash June 9 near Shanghai between KOK Machinery workers and police left 50 wounded. According to labor expert Cai Fang, cited by China Daily, recent labor disputes "send a clear signal of tighter labor supply." Honda workers striking on May 17 obtained a 24 percent wage increase. Intermittent strikes affecting Honda suppliers continue in early June despite offers of 24-32 percent wage hikes. Strikes and suicides at Apple and Sony supplier Foxconn prompted an almost 70 percent wage increase. Wages for 150 million migrant workers increased 16 percent in 2009. Minimum wage levels have risen this year by up to 20 percent in 14 provinces and regions. Labor's share of the national income declined from 53.4 in 1996 to 39.7 percent in 2007.

Cuba: Work starts on long-awaited fiber optic cable

In late May, the Singapore-based explorer vessel MV Ridley Thomas arrived at Santiago harbor to begin undersea explorations preparatory to laying fiber optic cable between Venezuela and Cuba. Use of the cable, set for early 2011, will boost Cuba's Internet access markedly and increase Internet communication speed 3,000-fold, according to Cubaheadlines.com. The laying of cable, with a spur headed for Jamaica, will bring to fruition one of the largest ventures thus far of the Latin American solidarity alliance ALBA. Wilfredo Morales, president of the Cuban-Venezuelan company undertaking the project, earlier had attributed the choice of a Shanghai corporation to provide Internet cable in part to Chinese immunity from strictures imposed by the U.S. economic blockade.

Photo: Workers protest outside Spain's Economic Ministry in Madrid May 20, after the government announced job cuts for public employees. (AP Photo/Paul White)

Questions and tensions remain about the Cheonan

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:01:00 +0000

UNITED NATIONS - A few years ago, one would have assumed that today, June 15, would be a day of celebration across the Korean peninsula. Exactly ten years ago, the north's Kim Jong Il and the south's Kim Dae-jung-in Pyongyang, marking the first time a South Korean head of state ever visited the North-signed the North-South Joint Declaration, which aimed for greater cooperation between the two states-and eventual reunification.

Today that agreement is all but dead, as a war of words-which many fear will escalate into a full-scale war-escalates between the two sides. The south accused the north of carrying out the March 26 sinking the warship Cheonan, which killed 46 soldiers, and North Korea is threatening military retaliation.

Regional neighbors such as China and Russia, alarmed at the prospects of an escalation in tension, have urged both sides to cool their rhetoric.

Still, at a press conference held here today, Sin Son Ho, North Korea's ambassador to the UN said that if the Security Council were to take any action against the North, "follow up measures will be carried out by our military forces."

Like many in South Korea, Sin called into question the legitimacy the Joint Investigation Committee, which was set up by the S. Korean government to look into exactly what happened to the Cheonan. Its finding, that a North Korean submarine torpedoed the warship, is the basis for South Korea's referral of the matter to the UNSC.

Many questions have been raised about the JIC. The UK, he said, has not answered whether or not its scientists were there as individuals or as state representatives; Sweden announced that its scientists had only acted as technical advisers and had no input into assigning blame. Other countries' statements have raised questions as well.

Sin put forward other arguments to bolster the case for the North's innocence in the matter:

The Cheonan had anti-submarine capability
The South Korean and U.S. warships in the area, with their state-of-the-art capabilities, should have been able to detect any North Korean submarine
Part of the evidence that the torpedo was North Korean was based upon North Korean script on a recovered part of the torpedo-though, according to some experts, there is no way that the writing should have survived, given that the explosion was big enough to break a huge warship into pieces

Sin further argued that the timing was suspicious. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak announced the findings the same day that local elections were to begin in his country, possibly to strengthen his Grand National Party's hand. Further, around the same time, the U.S. had been leaning on Japan to relocate an unpopular military base on Okinawa.

Also, chair of the south's Joint Chiefs of Staff Lee Sang-eui resigned after reports surfaced that he was either drunk or sleeping off a hangover while the Cheonan sunk and then forged documents to show that he was present at the site of the sinking.

Though evidence that the ship was sunk by accidental friendly fire and not the north appears to be mounting, and a large section of the South Korean public seems to agree, North Korea appears to be painting itself into a corner and alienating allies with rigid demands.

North Korea says it will not trust the results of any investigation aside from one done by a team from its Military Defense Commission, though it is highly unlikely that the South would allow northern military officials in. The north rejected a Chinese proposal, which would likely be accepted by the south, for an investigation headed up by the Military Armistice Commission, set up at the end of the Korean War.

Even those who agree that the North has been unfairly accused, and are opposed to U.S. dominance in the area, have taken umbrage at the north's inflammatory rhetoric, as in a May 30 statement on the official Korean Central News Agency's website: "We will react with rapid retaliatory strike, mercilessly strong physical strike if the puppet group of traitors shows any slightest sign of 'punishment' and 'retaliation'..."

While the MAC had gone dormant over the years, the UN's Korean command took up the offer and proposed that China's People's Liberation Army be brought back in-and that observers from the (north) Korean People's Army also be invited.

It seems unlikely the UN Security Council, given China's and Russia's status as veto-wielding members, will do anything more than issue a Presidential Statement. It also seems unlikely that relations between the two halves of Korea will return to anything akin to those of the thaw during the era of the Sunshine Policy, ushered in by the Joint Declaration, anytime soon.

Photo: The Joint Security Area of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is the only spot where South and North Korean forces stand face-to-face. The blue building is the conference room of the Military Armistice Commission. (CC)

Colombia tops list as most dangerous place for union workers, once again

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:43:00 +0000

Every year the International Trade Union Confederation reports on anti-labor union repression worldwide. The news from last year was worse than ever.

Its report, released June 9, showed 101 unionists murdered, up 30 percent over 2008. Colombia accounted for almost half of the murder victims -- 48. Other countries with large numbers of union members murdered were: Guatemala 16, Honduras 12, Mexico and Bangladesh six each, Brazil four, and the Dominican Republic and the Philippines three each. The report said India, Iraq and Nigeria had one murdered victim in each country.

The top three offenders, Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras, are recipients of U.S. military aid. In the case of Guatemala aid was dropped from 1990 to 2005 in support of local security forces, which engaged in violent repression of leftist political activists, including trade union leaders.

The ITUC also cited imprisonment, harassment and intimidation, murder attempts, and "serious death threats" applied to unionists worldwide, but "again mostly in Colombia and Guatemala."

Strike breaking and union busting are ubiquitous. Workers generally lack the right to organize and bargain collectively, and most have to settle for informal or temporary work. Women, migrants and agricultural workers have special vulnerability, the reports says.

According to ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder, "Colombia was yet again the country where standing up for fundamental rights of workers is more likely than anywhere else to mean a death sentence." FECODE, the Colombian teacher's union, took the major hit during 2009 with 19 murders, followed by the FENSUAGRO agricultural union that lost 11 members. In 2007, killers struck down 39 worker activists; in 2008, 49. Perpetrators are identified in only three percent of cases.

Nevertheless the International Labor Organization, a U.N. agency, accepted a Colombian government report of 28 workers killed during 2009. At a yearly review conference in Geneva, former Labor Minister Ana Lucia Noguera claimed unionist deaths were down 81 percent over seven years. The ILO ended up announcing early in June, Colombia's removal from a long stay on an ILO "black list" of the world's 25 most flagrant labor abusing countries, those requiring special attention.

Outgoing President Alvaro took the occasion to crow about "great news for Colombia," resulting from "strengthening of work to protect workers' rights and work to promote fraternal labor relations, different and opposed to class hatred." Heading the Colombian delegation before the ILO, Colombia's UN ambassador in Geneva Angelino Garzón chimed in similarly: Colombia is recognized "as a country with labor progress and union freedom."

ILO waffling on Colombia is consistent with a modus operandi specified on its web site: the ILO "brings together representatives of governments, employers and workers to jointly shape policies and programs."

Teamed with presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santos, Garzon is favored to become Colombia's next vice president in second round voting on June 20. He is a former union leader, labor minister, and departmental governor. Observers see the presence of a labor credentialed candidate on a ticket identified with labor rights, human rights, and constitutional abuses as cover up. That and the drama in Geneva play out amidst media efforts to shore up U.S and European support for corporation - friendly free trade agreements and militarization.

However, not only did the ITUC report cite 48 unionist deaths last year - not 28 - but also a Colombian labor federation spokesperson from CUT affirmed that 2,721 labor union members have been assassinated over 23 years. One man or woman has been killed every three days, according to a respected human rights group.

U.S. corporations, including Chiquita and Drummond, have been tied to giving support to paramilitary groups suspected in many unionists' murders. U.S. unions, especially the United Steelworkers, have ongoing solidarity campaigns with Colombian workers and unions. Both groups oppose a proposed U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement due to the anti-union violence.

During two weeks prior to the ITUC report's release, gunmen killed three unionists and severely wounded another, bringing the toll so far this year to 29. According to CUT President Tarsicio Mora, there have been 527 unionist murder victims since 2002, when Uribe became president, although other estimates put the figure at around 600.

Colombia's constitution recognizes the full gamut of labor rights. Yet only 4 percent of Colombia's 18 million workers currently are union members, while only 1.2 percent benefit from negotiated union contracts.

Human rights advocates remind outside observers that other Colombians besides unionists confront terrible violence. The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, for example, claims that "armed groups have killed more than 1,400 indigenous Colombians over the last decade," with 114 indigenous people meeting violent deaths last year, almost twice those killed in 2008.

Photo: Colombian trade unionists meet with leaders of the Machinists Union during a tour of the United States. IAM

Mixed verdict in Slovakia elections

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:48:00 +0000

Slovakia had a parliamentary election on Sunday, June 13, in which right-wing parties elected the most deputies. This comes on top of elections in the Czech Republic and Hungary, in both of which countries the right made advances.

In the Slovakian election, the Social Democratic Party (SMER) headed by Prime Minister Robert Fico got more votes than any one other party and considerably more than it did in the last parliamentary election in 2006 (it went from 671,185 votes, or 29.14 percent, to 880,111, or 34.79 percent). In 2006 the Communist Party of Slovakia ran separately and got 89,418 votes or 3.88 percent, but did not win a single seat in the legislature, or National Council. This time the CP supported SMER.

The 62 seats the Social Democrats won (up from 50 seats in 2006) are far fewer what they needed to control the 150 seat legislature. On the other hand, established right wing parties such as the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union-Democratic Party lost votes and seats from 2006 to 2010. Their dropped from 422,815 votes, or 18.35 percent of the vote and 31 seats, to an estimated 390,042 votes, or 15.42 percent of the vote and 28 seats. Other right wing parties also lost votes and seats.

But the right still has more seats than do the Social Democrats. After the 2006 election, Prime Minister Fico cobbled together a Frankenstein monster of a left-right coalition with two other parties. The center-right People's Party-Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, of former Prime MinisterVladimir Meciar, and the Slovak National Party whose leader, Jan Slota, has been accused of bigotry against the country's large Magyar (ethnic Hungarian) and Roma (Gypsy) minorities. After the 2006 election, the first of these had 15 seats and the second had 20.

In the 2010 election, the Slovak National Party was left with only 9 seats, and the People's Party with none. So, although Slovakia's President Ivan Gasparovic has asked Fico to try to form a new coalition, it can't be based on the same two partners. There is a Christian Democratic Party with 15 seats in the National Council, and also the Most-Hid party, purporting to represent the interests of the Hungarian minority, but these and other possible coalition partners are all right wing, and in the case of Most-Hid, it is incompatible as a coalition party with the Slovak National Party with its anti-Magyar rhetoric.

Some historical background

For hundreds of years, most of what is now Slovakia was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, with the landowning nobility being mostly Magyar while most of the peasants they exploited were Slovaks. When Slovakia was separated from Hungary at the end of the First World War and incorporated in Czechoslovakia, many ethnic Hungarians remained within it. After the collapse of socialism in Czechoslovakia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic went their separate ways, but Slovakia and Hungary still suffer tensions because of the minority Magyar issue.

Czech and Hungary

In the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic, the Social Democrats won the largest number of votes, 1,155,267, or 22.8 percent of the vote. But this was a significant drop from the last election, and they lost 18 seats, leaving them with 56. The right wing Civic Democracy Party came in second with 1,057,792 votes or 20.22 of the total, but this was sharply down from 2006 and they lost 28 seats, being left with 53. Many of those votes may have gone to a brand new right-wing party, TOP 09, who got 873,833, or 16.70, or 41 seats. The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, which ran its own candidates, got 589,765 votes, 11.27 percent, and held all 26 parliamentary seats it had going into the election. But it lost popular votes compared to 2006.

In Hungary, the two big shocks from its elections this Spring were the crushing defeat of the ruling Hungarian Socialist Party (social democrats) of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurscany, which voters evidently blamed for the current financial crisis and for a major scandal. The main victor was the right wing FIDESZ Party of Victor Orban.

But many observers were perturbed by the sharp advance in the first round of Jobbik, "Movement for a Better Hungary", an extreme nationalist party that has sprung up overnight, increased its vote eight times over, since the last election. Jobbik is militantly anti-communist, and is credibly accused of promoting hatred of Jews and Roma. It is also "Carpathian-Irredentist," which means it fights militantly for separatist rights for Magyars living outside Hungary.

These election results are worrisome, especially as they are matched by rightward movement in other parts of Europe. The second international, social democratic parties are blamed for drops in living standards on their watch, or are put in a position of administering cuts in social welfare demanded by international monopoly capital, the European Union and the IMF. The communist parties are fighting hard but they are suffering repression in several countries in Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic where efforts have been underway to legally eliminate the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, and in Poland where the ruling class is trying to make the use of communist symbols illegal.

Photo: Slovakia's Prime Minister and Chairman of the Social Democratic party Smer Robert Fico looks on after a press conference acknowledging results of the general elections in Bratislava, Slovakia, June 13. (Petr David Josek/AP)

With a "goooooal," Chicagoans celebrate World Cup opener: Mexico vs. South Africa

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:51:00 +0000

CHICAGO - In a sea of green jerseys hundreds proudly cheered for Mexico here early Friday morning, June 11, at a local indoor soccer gym as the North American nation competed against South Africa in the much-anticipated opening game of the 2010 World Cup.

In the first half it appeared Mexico had the upper hand controlling the ball most of the period although they failed to score in several close attempts.

However in the second half South Africa came alive and made the first successful drive toward the goal scoring on Mexico.

Some thought the point was unfair.

"Mexico just got robbed," said viewer Marco Hernandez, 35, who works for a printing shop. South Africa is the host country so the officials gave the point to the team even though, according to Hernandez, the player who scored was off-sides.

At half time organizers of the viewing party held a contest with guests to see who could shout "Goooooal" the loudest and most creatively. Winners won framed autographed Mexico jerseys. The bustling rooms were crowded and consisted of mostly Mexican fans, men and women, young and old. The feeling was high-spirited, loud and exciting. But when South Africa scored, the rooms fell silent.

But Mexico came back and scored late in the second half. Neither team was able to execute offensively after that. Game one of the World Cup ended in a 1-1 tie.

"Growing up soccer was always part of my Mexican culture," said Hernandez. "It's the passion that we share."

Many said it's great that the World Cup is being played for the first time on African soil. It's a tremendous plus for the sport worldwide and especially for the African nations involved, they said.

Others said soccer is more than just a sport we enjoy: it's something we live for.

"It's the biggest tournament in the world next to the Olympics," said Miguel Angel Ramirez, a 35-year-old visual artist. Africa is "the cradle of humanity" and having the games in South Africa will boost its economy and help provide jobs, he said.

A highlight at the event was the special appearance of Pavel Pardo, a soccer legend from Mexico, who helped the team qualify for this year's World Cup. Pardo played in the 2006 games and is an active player with Club America in Mexico City.

The World Cup is an extraordinary opportunity and a great experience for players of the world to compete, said Pardo. It's a time when people can be proud of their country and support their national soccer players. Pardo said he has confidence Mexico will make it far this year.

"The World Cup is important for the entire world but it is also especially important for the South African people because it's in South Africa," said Pardo.

"Soccer and the World Cup unite people and it unites nations," he said. It's a time when countries support international solidarity, anti-racism and community empowerment, he said.

Fans say teams to watch are Argentina, Spain and Brazil.

"Only 32 teams are worthy of the World Cup and it will come down to one who will have bragging rights for the next four years," said Patricia Arreola, 26, who works for Illinois State University. Arreola has always loved soccer even before playing goalie for her high school team.

"Plus soccer usually has a lot of cute guys with nice legs," she adds jokingly.

It's a simple game that people can easily follow and it's perfect for families to watch on Sunday afternoons, said Arreola.

"The games will also allow South Africa to showcase its rich culture and the beauty of its people," she notes.

Jose Cuervo, a popular tequila maker, sponsored the early morning viewing party. Chi-Town Futbol, a large indoor soccer gym located in the predominantly Mexican community of Pilsen on the city's southwest side, hosted the event.

Jeff Welsh, Chi-Town Futbol owner said the venue was eight years in the making featuring 15 large plasma TVs and one big screen. He hopes his venue can become the Mexican headquarters for World Cup viewers in Chicago. The gym runs adult soccer leagues seven nights a week all year round and 95 percent of the customers are Latino, he said.

Photo: Pepe Lozano/PW

In France, number of women smokers on the rise

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:47:00 +0000

TOULOUSE, France (l'Humanité) — Women are smoking more. In the short term, their tobacco consumption should exceed that of men, who are smoking less. While less obvious, women are also drinking more alcoholic beverages. Most importantly, women are the biggest users of psychoactive drugs and anxiolytics. This increase in female addictions also includes the use of illegal drugs.

Here in Toulouse on June 4, the Network of Health Institutions for the Prevention of Addiction organized meetings on addiction among adult and teenaged women because female addiction is not very well known. Psychiatrists and doctors have been studying this addictive behavior, which does not follow the same lines as male addictions.

Women who have obtained a degree in higher education use alcohol more than those who have not. This drinking usually does not occur in a convivial party context, but rather in discrete solitude, and it is aimed at calming a worry. There is, however, one exception: group drinking is not unusual among teenage girls.

Women, more than men, consume illicit psychoactive substances as a means of getting accepted by a group. This consumption may also be seen as a form of liberation. Sexual desire is also linked to the consumption of certain products (cocaine, etc.).

Equal amounts of a drug affect women more than men. In addition, drugs result in a delay in the menstrual cycle, blur behavioral limits, and increase the risk of an unwanted pregnancy. As a result, providing information and accompaniment to addicted women is indispensable.

But, at present, most of the cost of anti-smoking treatment is not reimbursed by the French social security system. It is an open question whether public health policy will meet the challenges of the current stress-producing period of economic crisis.

Photo: Valentin.Ottone/CC

Okinawa election rally: U.S. base is not deterrent

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:28:00 +0000

(Akahata) — A rally to unite to work for Iju Tadayuki's victory in the House of Councilors election took place on June 7 in Naha City in Okinawa, calling for the unconditional return of the U.S. Futenma base. Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo took part in the rally.

Iju, supported by the Association for a Peaceful, Rich Okinawa without Military Bases, expressed his determination by saying, "A candidate who clearly says 'No!' to U.S. bases must win in the election. My victory will be the best way to show both the Japanese and the U.S. governments our strong resistance and opposition to their plan regarding the Futenma base relocation."

Okinawa Social Mass Party Vice-Chair Itokazu Keiko (House of Councilors) said, "I will fight together with you for Iju's victory." Three city mayors, Inamine Susumu (Nago), Iha Yoichi (Ginowan), and Tomon Mitsuko (Okinawa) sent their messages of support in solidarity with Iju.

Speaking on behalf of the JCP, a member of the Association for a Peaceful, Rich Okinawa without Military Bases, Shii stated, "We can show how to solve the Futenma base issue by the political position Iju takes."

Stating that Iju is standing by the position calling for the unconditional removal of the base and opposing the base relocation within Okinawa, Shii said, "In the first place, the base in question was built on land forcibly taken away from Okinawans during the U.S. occupation. It's legally Okinawans' land. Why should Japan look for locations to relocate the U.S. base? Japan should ask the U.S. government to take its base home without any condition, decide where to locate the base in its own country, and use its own money to withdraw the base."

Shii said that Iju does not side with any power or any party that takes a stand for the relocation of the base in Okinawa. "Standing firm in rejecting the plan to move the base within the prefecture, Iju is taking a leadership role in meeting Okinawans' demand," Shii stressed.

Shii pointed out that Iju pursues a base-free peaceful Okinawa without the Japan-U.S. military alliance in the future and said, "Advocates of the base relocation inside Okinawa believe that the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty is important and the U.S. Marines should stay in Japan as a deterrence force. However, the U.S. Marines in Okinawa are continuing to be dispatched to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Marines in the Futenma base go to the Middle East for six months each year. Is this really a deterrence that protects Japan? Isn't it a force used to invade other countries?"

He called on the audience to give support to Iju by stating, "The course the Okinawans should take is to defeat the argument of deterrence and to look for a base-free Okinawa without the military alliance."

Photo: From the "No Base Okinawa" protest in Ginowan, May 2010. thechrisdavis Flickr/cc

Media fury over Berlusconi's “gag”

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:17:00 +0000

(Morning Star) — Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government has won a confidence vote in the Senate on a bill that curbs wiretaps and imposes fines on news organisations that report leaked information on criminal investigations.

The upper house of parliament in Rome backed the measure 164 to five and the bill will now go to the Chamber of Deputies for final approval.

Under the new legislation, which critics have branded a "gag law," journalists risk imprisonment and publishers could be fined as much as 450,000 euros (£308,000) for reporting information gathered from law-enforcement wiretaps.

The legislation also restricts the use of wiretaps in criminal investigations by requiring more evidence before police can begin recording suspects' conversations.

The measure would limit any wiretaps to 75 days.

Special authorisation would be needed to tap the phones of parliamentarians and priests.

According to US-based think tank Freedom House, the new rules "are out of line with prevailing best practice for decriminalising press."

The journalists' union has called a strike for July 9 and vowed "all-out, unending resistance."

And Italian media protested against the bill on Friday - with the left-leaning La Repubblica running a front page with no news but only a tiny "post-it" style yellow memo reading: "The gagging law will deny citizens the right to be informed."

In an editorial, editor in chief Ezio Mauro said: "We are running a blank front page to tell readers that democracy has been short-circuited."

Corriere della Sera called it "a dark day" for justice and L'Unita ran its headline with a typeface that was used when fascist dictator Benito Mussolini controlled the media.

Mr Berlusconi insists that the new rules are needed to protect privacy.

But the opposition has accused his right-wing government of crafting a law designed to cover up corruption.

The bill, which will now return to the lower house for final approval, languished in parliament for months.

But the Berlusconi administration swiftly dusted it off after newspapers printed leaked transcripts from a high-profile corruption inquiry into public works contracts that has tainted Mr Berlusconi's cabinet and forced the Industry Minister Claudio Scajola to resign.

Photo: Silvio Berlusconi/Morning Star

Iran's neo-liberal agenda

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:10:00 +0000

On the first anniversary of the fraudulent election that secured Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's second term as president, Iran is once again under the international media spotlight. Barely three days after the United Nations Security Council imposed devastating fourth term sanctions on Iran, the fundamentalist regime has clamped down on its seething population and banned the anticipated mass protest demonstrations planned for Saturday June 12, the anniversary of the election. As the world public struggles to balance its total opposition to the UN sanctions and threats of military attack by the U.S. and its allies with its abhorrence of the theocratic dictatorship and the adventurous and ill-thought pronouncements and actions of the Ahmadinejad and his courtiers, this article exposes the true anti-popular roots and intentions of the regime and its continuing impoverishment and subjugation of the Iranian people.

As seen from the outside, Iran's Islamic regime is superficially characterised by its anti-Western foreign policy and particularly by its verbal attacks against the U.S. and Israel. There is a spectrum of opinion that interprets the regime's belligerent stance as "anti-imperialist" or rather "anti-American." However, the vast majority of progressives rightly recognize that beneath its sloganeering facade lies a theocratic and reactionary regime fronted by Ahmadinejad's illegitimate government. Less noted is the regime's neo-liberal economic doctrine and its impact on the majority of the population, the working people and the poor.

Since the ending of the Iran-Iraq war in summer 1988, the first peacetime government under Hashemi Rafsanjani, with the support of the spiritual leader (Ayatollah Khamenei), embarked on an IMF-based restructuring of the economy. Rafsanjani's era, dubbed the "Restructuring Epoch through Economic Adjustment," was based on the free market mechanisms of privatization, deregulation of the labor market, floatation of the currency and deregulation of prices. This soon left Iran's economy shattered with 49.5 percent inflation, $34 billion national debt and $22.5 billion trade deficit. At the same time, the rich got richer while the standard of living of the majority of Iran's population fell massively and structural poverty grew.

In spite of this, neo-liberal economic theory became predominant within various factions of the regime and those in power ignored the mass impoverishment they were creating. Eight years of reformist government, from 1997, led by President Mohammad Khatami, continued on the same damaging neo-liberal path, trying to create investment incentives and a secure climate for private capital in conjunction with deregulation of the labor market. However, increased private sector investment was largely concentrated on non-productive activity, chiefly the import of goods and property speculation, and the free market orientation resulted in more and more painful economic hardship for working people and increased unemployment.

These grave consequences of neo-liberal economics massively discredited the Reformist forces in the eyes of ordinary Iranians and Reformists' efforts to promote democratic changes and civic society paled into insignificance compared to the deepening poverty suffered by the majority of the people. The Reformists' unwillingness to confront economic-political corruption and the way in which the rich continued to get richer further fuelled people's mistrust.

Ahmadinejad, representing one of the most socially reactionary and economically conservative groupings within the regime, was able to capitalize on the adverse and unpopular consequences of the Reformists' neo-liberal policies and in 2005, backed by the spiritual leader and the "Islamic Guard Corps," was able to rig the election. At the same time, the Reformists, having lost credibility with the poor and marginalized, were unable to confront the new government.

At the outset, Ahmadinejad's populist slogans and attacks against the Reformists' economic plans proved popular among the marginalized and poor and certain disorganized sections of the working people, and his propaganda enabled him to pose as the people's champion, promising to alleviate chronic poverty, fight corruption and challenge the super-rich. However, it soon became clear that this rogue champion of the people had no intention of reversing the regime's neo-liberal economic plans. Unrestrained privatization and deregulation of the labor market continued at an even faster pace and workers' protests were crushed. Behind the smokescreen and his bogus anti-American and anti-corruption ranting, Ahmadinejad intended only to re-brand the regime's neo-liberal economic orientation, not change it.

Since Ahmadinejad's first term in office there have been no significant increases in productive investments. The economic growth continues to be based solely on the export of crude oil and a form of parasitic capitalism which is engaged in speculation. The net result has been increasing hardship for working people and the poor. The key difference of Ahmadinejad's economic program with the one operating before is solely the shifting of the dominant economic beneficiaries within the regime's elite. His free-market-based economic policies are designed to maximize profit and divert it towards new leading groupings in power.

Given Iran's under-developed and warped capitalist framework, the adoption of the neo-liberal economic model has been likewise distorted. However, Milton Friedman would have immediately recognized and admired certain fundamentals that are doggedly pursued by Ahmadinejad's government. Growing privatization of key public assets and the development of a "small government" that shrugs off direct responsibility for national economic development but strictly enforces a non-unionized and cheap labor workforce are examples to note.

What is missing in Iran from Friedman's neo-liberal model is a totally open competitive market. This is not because of Ahmadinejad's "anti-capitalist" outlook but because the open market has been deliberately avoided in order to preserve the interest of the oligarchs within the Islamic regime's ruling circles. The "Islamic Guard Corps" is the key political supporter of Ahmadinejad and its high command has been the main economic beneficiary of the massive privatizations under Ahmadinejad. The Guard's high command, along with its associated cronies in the regime, is now the powerful and the dominant oligarch in Islamic Iran. It will do anything lawful or unlawful to expand its economic empire, including using intimidation and direct force.

It was during Ahmadinejad's first term in office that, with the active support of Ayatollah Khamenei, the constitution was amended to require the government to privatize key state assets through Tehran's Stock Exchange. The lucrative parts of the oil industry, mines and the national telecommunication infrastructure have been the key areas targeted by the commanders of the Islamic Guard. Wherever possible Ahmadinejad's government has created single-bidder tenders with the Islamic Guard or one of its umbrella organizations as the only contender. To justify this wholesale privatization, Ahmadinejad described it as "giving people's affairs back to people" and dubbed the privatization as the distribution of "Justice Shares" where ordinary people can become share owners! This is reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher's "share owning democracy" where, as intended, few shares at all ended up with the people.

In dealing with the government's economic problems and in particular the growing budget deficit, during the last 12 months Ahmadinejad's government has embarked on its extremely right-wing "economic shock therapy" which it has dubbed the "great surgery"!

Ahmadinejad's plans aim to remove all major price subsidies and instead use this money to provide "cash payments" to the disadvantaged. This is one of the main planks of neo-liberal economics advocated by the IMF. This dangerous plan was even opposed by the Parliament that is dominated by the supporters of Ahmadinejad's rigged election. The legislation had to be forced through with the help of the spiritual leader. All experts are warning that the resulting massive inflationary rise will hurt the working people and the poor. It should be noted that Iran lacks the necessary infrastructures in order to be able to divert the so-called "cash payments" towards those in need.

Ahmadinejad's government, like its predecessors, sees neo-liberal economics as the remedy to all Iran's economic problems, while at the same time allowing the regime to protect the economic interests of its elites. Like its predecessors, Ahmadinejad's government sees the workers of Iran as a dangerous force that needs to be contained in terms of its economic demands, desire to get organized and political activities.

The brutal crackdown by the Islamic Guards on those protesting against the illegal election of Ahmadinejad and continuing imprisonments and executions are not the actions of a state protecting itself against foreign interference. It simply represents the actions of a dictatorship using brute force to protect the political power and massive economic interests of its new oligarchs.

Jamshid Ahmadi is the assistant general secretary of CODIR, Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People's Rights. For further information on Iran, visit www.codir.net or contact codir_info@btinternet.com.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/midnightquill/1435157946/ cc 2.0

Iranian unionists, students prepare for nationwide protests

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:33:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (PAI)--Iranian unions, students and human rights activists readied nationwide protests, centered around the June 12 first anniversary of the fraudulent 2009 Iranian presidential election, according to websites and the son of a colleague of an imprisoned Iranian bus drivers union president.

The protests, which could stretch from June 10 through June 20, are designed to again call the world's attention to repression by both Iran's military and by street militia recruited by the clerically-run government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, they said. The Iranian government is nominally headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Besides again protesting the vote, unionists and activists will denounce the May 9 execution of five activists, including Kurdish teachers' union member Farzad Kamangar, and the two-plus years of hard jail time -- so far -- for Mansour Osanloo, president of the Tehran Bus Drivers union.
Osanloo's bus drivers' union colleague, Ebrahim Mahdadi, has been held for at least a year in his latest jail stint, adds David Cockroft, president of the International Transport Federation, a coalition of worldwide transportation unions, including the Amalgamated Transit Union and the Transport Workers Union of America.

The ITF is vigorously protesting their imprisonment. He also wrote Ahmadinejad, "ITF and the rest of the international community is extremely concerned Farzad Kamangar and others appear to have been killed without due legal process, without notice and without even a chance to say goodbye to their families. This situation represents a horrendous lack of disrespect for basic human rights and decency.

"On behalf of the five million workers in the transport industry worldwide, I urge you to intervene robustly, personally and immediately to put a stop to the abuse of power and legal process perpetrated by elements within your administration," he added.

Osanloo's colleague -- a fellow Tehran bus driver -- told his son that Osanloo has been held in hazardous conditions, including months in Iran's notorious Evin Prison, used by the former Shah's secret police for torture. Osanloo was recently transferred to solitary confinement after "being held with dangerous criminals" or being incarcerated with addicts, according to ITF and the son.

Some months after Osanloo was arrested, the son visited ATU in Washington and got its leaders to send a formal letter to Ahmadinejad demanding the Iranian bus drivers' leader's release. Osanloo "has been tortured because they want him to come on state TV and say things against unions and he refuses," the son reports. "The Intelligence Services want to crush someone's character and personality, so that when they're released, nobody will listen to or believe them.

"They used to kill you right away," the son said of the torture in Evin prison. "Now they want to kill the person's soul."

The son of Osanloo's colleague explained the Tehran bus drivers union was legally recognized by the present Iranian government. "But they want the union leader to be an agent of the government. Instead, the bus drivers chose their own leader," Osanloo. "Otherwise, it would be a sham union," he said.

No charges have ever been filed against Osanloo. The son of Osanloo's colleague said the union leader was picked up "because he's part of the general uprising in Iran of students, workers, teachers and others for democracy."

Others arrested include leaders of minority religious sects.

Worldwide leaders of the Baha'i faith organized protests on June 12 against Iran's jailing of seven leaders. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, among others, endorsed those Baha'i protests.

Besides the election protests, the demonstrators in Iran also want the union leaders to have the right to a public trial, to hear and respond to the charges against them, and to have legal counsel. Other protests against Iran's actions included three in early June in the world's most-populous Moslem country, Indonesia.

Other than the son's approach to ATU, U.S. unions have not been asked for help, because of fear that U.S. support would enable the Iranian government to label Iranian union leaders as U.S. tools, U.S. union international specialists told PAI.

Nevertheless, the Iranians believe international protests and attention will help keep pressure on their government not to mistreat -- or kill -- union leaders.

That's what happened to Kamangar, 35, a member of the Teachers' Trade Association of Kurdistan, and four other Kurds, on May 9. Kamangar was accused of "endangering national security" and "enmity against God." He was sentenced to death, ITF said, in a 5-minute closed trial in Feb. 2008, and hung this year. And sugar union leaders were picked up last November and have been held ever since, ITF reports.

The Obama administration denounces Iranian human rights abuses, but it concentrates on gaining support for tough international sanctions against Iran's nuclear program.

Despite a deal between Iran, Turkey and Brazil on nuclear fuel, the Obama administration went forward with a new round of sanctions against Iran, passed by the United Nation's Security Council this week.

Photo: International Transport Workers Federation/CC