IV420 - January 2010

We never saw the reference to Trotskyism as a way to shut ourselves off from others. For us, it was more like a polemical challenge. We accepted the Trotskyist tag in our conflict with the Stalinists — but without building a neurotic identity out of it or, conversely, downplaying the importance of this heritage. - read article...

On 10th January 2010, Anjumn Mazareen Punjab (AMP) (Punjab Tenants Organization) organized a public meeting in Renala Kurd, 100 km from Lahore, to commemorate the 8th death anniversary of Muhammad Basher Ahmad Shaheed, the first martyr among 11 of the movement. He was killed by Rangers in 2002. - read article...

Daniel left us today, Tuesday the 12th of January 2010. Born in 1946 he gave his life to the cause of defending revolutionary Marxist ideas right to the end. - read article...

The French radical philosopher and political leader, Daniel Bensaïd, died Tuesday morning after fighting a painful cancer for several months at the end of close to 15 years of living with AIDS. - read article...

On Tuesday January 12, 2010 our friend Daniel Bensaid, “Bensa” died. Those familiar with Daniel knew he was incurably ill, and had regretfully expected for some weeks news which, though we knew it to be inevitable, we always fought to believe would not come. - read article...

This essay was probably among the last written by Daniel Bensaïd. It appears in the latest issue of Contretemps, the journal where Daniel was one of three publishing editors. The piece is a contribution to a series of essays on the meaning of communism put together as part of a symposium on the same topic being held in Paris on January 22nd and 23rd. Daniel was looking forward to the symposium. - read article...

The political perspectives of the LPP have been put to the test several times in a rapidly changing political situation. From day one we opposed General Musharaf military dictatorship. We oppose both American imperialism and religious fanaticism while some feel they must support one side or the other. - read article...

Thousands of people gathered at La Mutualité in Paris on Sunday, January 24, 2010 to render homage to Daniel Bensaïd. Hosted by Fred Borras and Myriam Martin, both from the leadership of the NPA and from Toulouse, like Daniel, this was an emotional and militant act of remembrance to his memory. - read article...

On 29th January an historic gathering took place at Faisalabad, the third largest city in Pakistan. The event was jointly organized by the Labour Qaumi (National) Movement and the Anjuman Mozareen Punjab (Punjab Tenants Association), two movements of workers and peasants that, by their defiant activities in several Punjabi districts, have caught the imagination of thousands. - read article...

”We welcome the proposals from a number of political parties for an investigation into the ridiculous allegations put forward by the Police Intelligence Service (in Danish:PET) and by the PET Commission”, says Michael Voss, member of the Executive Committee of the SAP. - read article...

Common Left Candidate Vickramabahu Karunaratne called the declared result of the presidential election in Sri Lanka as the biggest ever betrayal of the country. - read article...

Since the World Social Forum was launched in June 2000, at the Alternative Social Summit in Geneva, coinciding with the United Nations Assembly on Social Development, ten years have passed. In this decade, the world has changed and the context in which the World Social Forum (WSF) emerged is different to that of today. - read article...

One of the most vexing issues in Latin America’s relations with Haiti, is the grievous lack of understanding on the part of anti-imperialist forces about the nature of the repeated imperialist occupations of the former French colony, and of the crushing of the Lavalas movement, including the ouster of the country’s democratically-elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. - read article...

Our articles on the floods in Pakistan have given details of how to send financial aid to the Labour Relief Fund. If it is more convenient for you, you can also send funds through the Europe Solidaire Sans Frontieres account. - read article...

Pakistan is facing worst ever floods of its history. Torrential rains have unleashed flash floods in different parts of the country since last three weeks. Water levies broke leaving the people exposed to flood water. More than 12 million people have suffered due to these floods. More than 650,000 houses have collapsed, mainly in villages. Thousands of acres of crops have been destroyed due to flood water. Houses, live-stock such as cattle’s and goats, household goods, clothes, shoes and other items have been destroyed. Residents of villages are currently without drinkable water, food, shelter and in need of clothes. In particular, the situation is dire for children and women and they are in desperate need of food and clothing. Disease is spreading fast in the areas affected due to lack of drinkable water. In particular, flu, fever, diarrhea, cholera have been noted and are spreading. - read article...

An unexpected, unthinkable, yet - concerning current circumstances - quite expectable and natural thing has occurred yesterday night. Three public social activists that have always expressed a consistent antifascist attitude and shunned civil indifference have been detained. - read article...

We, the participants at the Istanbul ESF, affirming that we have a strong engagement aganist all war and occupation and that we are for a politial resolution of the Kurdish issue, have made the following resolution : - read article...

Under the impulse of the World Bank and international capitalist institutions, the Moroccan regime started a privatization process of the universities and attacks against the right to studiy. The announcement of the “Emergency plan” to the university at beginning of the academic year, i.e. of the brutal aggravation of these attacks, put a spark to the powder. The class-struggle trade unionists of fight, organised within the UNEM, are at the forefront of the mobilization against the “Emergency plan”. - read article...