By ANDREW POLLACK In recent weeks the masses of Egypt and Tunisia have re-entered the streets and taken workplace action in significant numbers, boldly defying their rulers out of dissatisfaction with how the latter are throttling the promise of their revolutions. In response the parties in power in each country—bourgeois populist parties with an Islamist … Continue reading A new Arab revolt?
Tag: Tunisia
What Libya’s Elections Mean for the People
Millions of Libyans cast their ballots on July 7 in the first “free” election Libya has seen in over four decades. Throngs of people packed into voting booths to select the country’s new 200-seat National Assembly, which will be tasked with creating a new government and writing up a draft constitution. In response to the … Continue reading What Libya’s Elections Mean for the People
The ongoing potential of the Syrian revolution
In their battle to rid themselves of the murderous, corrupt Assad regime, the Syrian people faced a succession of obstacles. Decades of repression had left organizers trying to make up for lost time when the revolt broke out. This was followed by a usurpation of leadership of the movement by various bourgeois forces, from the … Continue reading The ongoing potential of the Syrian revolution
Houla Massacre Heightens Danger of Intervention & Derailing of the Syrian Revolution
On May 25, 108Syrian civilians were murdered in the Houla area of towns and villages, including 34 women and 49 children. Some were killed by artillery shells, some at close hand by guns or knives.Not surprisingly, the regime and the opposition blamed each other. It’s most likely that responsibility for the carnage lies with President … Continue reading Houla Massacre Heightens Danger of Intervention & Derailing of the Syrian Revolution
Libya’s Shadow
Reports by independent Arab human rights organizations and the UN Human Rights Council (published March 2) document the human rights violations in Libya since February 2011. They show us that it was indeed the case that the Qaddafi regime conducted crimes against humanity and, when the war began, war crimes.But what the UN report also … Continue reading Libya’s Shadow
“Kony 2012” Provides Cover for US Imperialism in Africa
<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--> Chances are that you have seen the film, “Kony 2012.” The viral video has attracted an unprecedented amount of attention in only a few days. The subject of the film, The Lord’s Resistance Army, is a central African guerrilla movement with a fanatic religious character and a personality … Continue reading “Kony 2012” Provides Cover for US Imperialism in Africa
U.S. Hands Off Syria! Victory to the Uprising!
Statement by Socialist Action (U.S.) Political CommitteeFor revolutionaries in the United States, there is no question that our primary responsibility in regard to solidarity with the workers and peasants of Syria is the need to organize against U.S. intervention. No other task is so crucial to ensure self-determination so that Syrians can win their battle … Continue reading U.S. Hands Off Syria! Victory to the Uprising!
Occupy, longshore workers challenge anti-union bosses
Time Magazine designated its “Person of the Year 2011” as “The Protestor.” To make clear that its reference was to what the editors considered the most important development of the year, Time added to its cover-page headline: “From the Arab Spring to Athens, from Occupy Wall Street to Moscow.” Its feature story began, “No one … Continue reading Occupy, longshore workers challenge anti-union bosses
Egyptian masses say military regime must go
The masses of Egypt in their millions have returned to the streets, determined to finish the revolution they began in January by ousting from power the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Every day since a police attack in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Saturday, Nov. 19, thousands of youths have braved murderous police sallies … Continue reading Egyptian masses say military regime must go
Occupy movement goals: Socialist revolution or capitalist reforms?
At last count 900 U.S. cities have joined the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. Five hundred other cities and towns on every continent have joined the mushrooming mobilizations in solidarity. With each repressive blow, the movement comes back stronger—more inclusive, more confident, and more clearly focused. “The Americans are fighting back at last,” cried one … Continue reading Occupy movement goals: Socialist revolution or capitalist reforms?
Building the NATO /G8 protests
The Oct. 15 demonstrations and forums called by the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) to mark the 10th anniversary of the occupation of Afghanistan wonderfully coincided with an internationally called Global Day of Action against austerity and were able, in many cities, to link up with the Occupy Movement. In New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, … Continue reading Building the NATO /G8 protests
Syria uprising is critical to continuing Arab revolt
With the NATO victory in Libya, the regional Arab revolt faces a turning point. In our last issue we explained that Egypt was the key to the fate of that revolt, because of the weight of its working class, that class’s militancy and state of mobilization, and new political projects in its ranks.Now NATO has … Continue reading Syria uprising is critical to continuing Arab revolt
Imperialist Victory Is No Gain For Libyan People
Tragically, Libya’s short-lived February 2011 “Arab Spring” was rapidly transformed into a six-month imperialist-led onslaught that wrought death and destruction on the Libyan people. The U.S. and other NATO countries are seeking to establish a beachhead in Libya that can be used to derail the mass revolts that have taken place throughout the region and … Continue reading Imperialist Victory Is No Gain For Libyan People
Workers in Egypt: Key to Saving the Arab Spring
Throughout the Middle East and North Africa, the U.S. is using every weapon in its arsenal—military, diplomatic, financial, etc.—to try to turn the Arab Spring into a Washington Winter, an endless night of continued poverty enforced by dictatorships.But Egypt’s workers, who initiated the process leading to the mass Arab revolt with their strikes five years … Continue reading Workers in Egypt: Key to Saving the Arab Spring
UNAC plans protest at NATO summit
The illusions of many Americans that Obama would turn out to be an “antiwar president” were definitively shattered early last year when he sent 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Since that time, the Obama administration’s attempts to convince the public that the war would soon wind down have proven hollow. Instead, Washington is expanding its … Continue reading UNAC plans protest at NATO summit
Obama counsels Arab nations to ‘follow Poland’
On his visit to Warsaw at the end of May, President Obama cited Poland as a ‘living example” for Arab nations that are currently in revolt. The U.S. sees Poland as the most successful case of an Eastern European country in which capitalism has been restored.Poland was the only EU country that did not fall … Continue reading Obama counsels Arab nations to ‘follow Poland’
Tunisia: An ongoing revolution
Following are portions of an interview with Jalel Ben Brik Zoghlami, a lawyer and one of the leaders of the Ligue de la Gauche Ouvrière (LGO, Workers’ Left League). He was formerly a leader of the Organisation Communiste Révolutionnaire (OCR, Revolutionary Communist Organisation, Tunisian section of the Fourth International). He was interviewed by Jan Malewski … Continue reading Tunisia: An ongoing revolution
Egyptian workers organize for political and economic rights
by Andrew PollackOn Friday, April 8, hundreds of thousands gathered in Tahrir Square to demand that Mubarak and his clique be put on trial for their crimes. In the early hours of the next morning, the military savagely attacked those still in the square, killing two. But in a sign of the depth of the … Continue reading Egyptian workers organize for political and economic rights
Profit system fuels food crisis
by Barry WeislederGlobally, more than 935 million people go hungry every day. The dramatic rise in food prices adds millions monthly to the mass of starving people. It precipitated the “Arab Awakening” from Tunisia to Egypt. It sparked food riots in Bangladesh, and now confronts Afghanistan with a 50 per cent shortfall in funding for … Continue reading Profit system fuels food crisis
U.S./NATO, Hands Off Libya! Victory to the Uprising!
by Andrew Pollack During recent weeks the imperialist forces attacking Muammar Gadhafi’s regime have dropped what little pretense existed about their goal of regime change in Libya. The defining moment of this shift came when an op-ed cosigned by the heads of state of the U.S., Britain, and France declared: “Gadhafi must go.” In an … Continue reading U.S./NATO, Hands Off Libya! Victory to the Uprising!
Stop NATO strikes on Libya
No to Gadhafi! No to imperialist intervention!Socialist Action EditorialSocialist Action stands solidly for the victory of the Libyan masses in their fight to overthrow the dictatorial regime of Muammar Gadhafi. But to achieve their goals, and to avoid a derailing of the still-growing revolution in northern Africa and the Middle East, the war of the … Continue reading Stop NATO strikes on Libya
April 9 & 10 antiwar rallies to express solidarity with Wisconsin workers
by Christine Marie“Stop the War on the Unions! Money for Jobs and Education, Not for War and Occupation!” So began a leaflet distributed by United National Antiwar Committee supporters at the Feb. 26 rally of 100,000 workers at the Wisconsin State Capitol building in Madison.UNAC team members traveled from Minneapolis, Virginia, and Vermont to display … Continue reading April 9 & 10 antiwar rallies to express solidarity with Wisconsin workers
Cracks in the Empire
by Mumia Abu-JamalDespite what talking heads in corporate media proclaim, there hasn’t been a revolution in the North African countries of Tunisia or Egypt, or the Persian Gulf’s Bahrain. These have been rebellions. For revolutions transform whole societies—they just don’t remove a few leaders.That’s why much of U.S. reporting is so misleading. They want to … Continue reading Cracks in the Empire
The rest of the Arab nation steps forward
by Andrew PollackIn the last month, the Arab revolution has spread to virtually every country in the region. In Bahrain, Yemen, Oman, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, Djibouti, and even Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, repeated rallies ranging from hundreds to hundreds of thousands have occurred, met sometimes with murderous repression, sometimes with grudging and pathetic reforms. In … Continue reading The rest of the Arab nation steps forward
Egypt, Tunisia inspire struggles worldwide
by Andrew Pollack On Feb. 11 the masses of Egypt succeeded in driving Hosni Mubarak from office. After repeated mobilization of millions in Cairo and elsewhere, they had begun to march on state institutions in the capital (as had already happened in Suez and Alexandria). To forestall a split in the army, the military hierarchy … Continue reading Egypt, Tunisia inspire struggles worldwide