Since the end of July, and despite continued terrorist attacks by the so called Islamic State (IS) against Iraqi civilians, massive popular demonstrations have taken place in the capital Baghdad and several cities in the south of the country mainly to denounce corruption in the country and the political bankruptcy of the ruling sectarian political parties. Demands of the protesters notably included the dissolution of parliament, the end of the domination of the clergy on the structure of the Iraqi state and the modification of the Constitution to end the sectarian quotas. The demonstrations also condemned the continuing failures and power outages, deteriorating public services and increasing social inequalities.
Together we can change Scotland
19 August 2015As we report here the Scottish Socialist Party is supporting the launch of the Scottish Left Project’s electoral challenge on August 29. The Scottish Left Project was set up by forces involved in the Radical Independence campaign (RIC )after the Unionist Project Fear delivered a victory for the no side in the Scottish independence referendum in September 2014. The idea was to build on the energy that exemplified by the Yes campaign and especially by RIC. Its launch statement makes reference to the rise of Podemos as being another inspiration behind it. Below we publish the statement which has been the basis of the policy discussions throughout Scotland in the run up to the event.
The War Is Over
19 August 2015, byIn the Philippines, one of the world’s longest running communist insurgencies is being worn down by the passage of history.
Teachers in Germany say no!
18 August 2015, byAfter several warning strikes and an indefinite strike of four weeks, which lasted until mid-June, the local government employers’ association, responsible for agreements affecting two million public service employees, requested the aid of the mediation system which (by law) forced a break in the strike.
Fourteen organizations of the Greek Left call for mobilizations around the country against the new memorandum
17 August 2015, byThe developments in Athens are dramatic and their pace is accelerating. In the next few hours the Greek parliament will vote the new, third, Memorandum agreed between the Syriza government and the Europeans following the now standard express procedure of a single-day (and night…) “debate”. The MPs of Syriza’s Left Platform have already announced that they will vote no and the number of other Syriza MPs who will do the same is still unknown. Among them there will certainly be Zoe Kostantopoulou, the president of the Greek parliament who is currently waging a desperate fight for the ultra-minimal procedures of the parliamentary debate to be respected. Her attitude has triggered a tremendous media attack which is now openly backed by members of the government and pro-government Syriza MPs.
Another major development was the call issued today for the popular mobilization and the constitution of committees against the Memorandum across the country by the leaders of Syriza’s Left Platform (Panagiotis Lafazanis of the Left Current, and Antonis Davanelos of DEA/Red Network) and leading figures of twelve other organizations of the Greek radical Left. Among them two (ARAN and ARAS) are founding components of Antarsya. This is widely considered as the first public step towards the constitution of a new political front that will regroup a large range of forces of the radical Left opposing the new Memorandum and the neoliberal U-turn of the Syriza government.
Let us build a Left alternative!
16 August 2015, byThese days the focus of most of the country is on the general election scheduled for 17th August 2015. People want to know how the victory achieved by Maithripala Sirisena after defeating Mahinda Rajapakse in the 8th January 2015 presidential election will be reflected in the representation of the contending political party in the new parliament.
To kill or not to kill—a twisted test of nationalism
16 August 2015, by“There is no justice in killing in the name of justice.” – Archbishop Desmond Tutu
The last week of July 2015 presented two tests of nationalism before Indians. The first was whether one mourned the passing away of former President APJ Abdul Kalam Azad, also known as the ‘Missile Man’ of India; the other was cheering for putting to death Yakub Memon, who was convicted and executed in relation to the Bombay blasts in 1993.
Puerto Rico’s New Party of the Working People Fights Austerity
15 August 2015, byThe Partido del Pueblo Trabajador—the Party of the Working People (PPT)—is a political project of the Puerto Rican left addressed to working people in the context of the island’s deep economic crisis. It would be hard to exaggerate the gravity of Puerto Rico’s present social and economic situation, which can only be compared to the impact of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Puerto Rico’s economy has not grown since 2006.
Polarisation in Syriza as democracy undermined in Greece
14 August 2015, byRed Flag’s Colleen Bolger has recently returned from Athens, where she has been reporting on the political turmoil in Greece. Her previous dispatches, along with other articles and statements from Greece, provide valuable background. They are collected at Articles from Athens.
Moynihan’s Anti-Feminism
13 August 2015, byThe Moynihan Report naturalized patriarchy and rationalized inequality. Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s 1965 government report, “The Negro Family,” argued that the “unstable” family structure of many African Americans — as reflected in high rates of female-headed families and out-of-wedlock births — was the primary barrier to attaining racial equality.