For readability this article is divided into the following three parts.

Part 1: Sri Lankan government war crime and UN’s belated report and UN hypocrisy

Part 2 : UN and imperialist interest

Part 3: Attack on Diaspora and lack of political solution

-Written by TU Senan, for Tamil Solidarity.

Part 1:Sri Lankan government war crime and UN’s belated report

The UN panel report, published on 25 April after considerable delay, confirms what Tamil Solidarity and others have been saying about the slaughter of Tamils in Sri Lanka over the last two years. The panel was set up by the United Nations secretary general Ban-Ki Moon in June 2010 to advise him on Sri Lanka.

This report affirms our claims that the Sri Lankan military massacred more than 40,000 people in the final phase of the war that ended in May 2009. They constantly bombed hospitals, schools, temporary shelters and so-called ‘no fire zones’. Every single one of 400,000 refugees was then taken, en mass, to ‘detention camps’ with no proper facilities. Deaths and gross humanitarian abuses took place during the transportation and in the camps. Many campaigns, including Tamil Solidarity and Tamil media outlets, constantly published reports of these horrors.

However, there should not be any illusions that this report, will bring about any change in the conditions of the victims in Sri Lanka. The day after its publication the UK Guardian newspaper reported that the UN secretary general ‘would only launch an international investigation if the Sri Lankan government agrees or an “international forum” such as the United Nations security council calls for an inquiry’.  It is obvious to many that the Sri Lankan government will not allow any international investigations. In fact the publication of the belated panel report was itself further delayed by the Sri Lankan government’s protests. The Sri Lankan External Affairs minister, GL Peiris, called the report “preposterous” and “baseless”.

The Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, called for a ‘show of strength’ on May Day, international workers’ day, to “demonstrate against the injustice done to the country” by the UN report! “May Day should not be confined to expressing workers’ solidarity”, declared Rajapaksa. While the regime is trying to hijack workers’ day for their chauvinist benefit, they accuse the UN of being “hijacked by some countries”!  The government also called on all political parties in the country to express opposition to the report. They want to divert criticism of the government towards the ‘foreign enemy’.

In response to Rajapaksa’s call, the pseudo-Marxist JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, a Sinhala-based chauvinist communal party which incorrectly calls itself ‘Marxist’) attacked the UN for interfering in the country’s affairs! The real reason behind their opposition to the report comes from the fact that they supported the government during the war. They were with the government every step of the way during the war. And quick to promote ex-General Sareth Fonseka who led the war and he had been treated as a national hero.

The JVP sometimes tries to give a ‘mixed picture’. It gives the impression that it is fighting against the attacks on democratic rights, fighting for Tamil refugees’ rights and media freedom. It does this to keep the support of the students and some workers, who they have mobilised on the basis of ‘radical’ social and economic demands. But as they mix these demands with Buddhist Sinhala nationalism they push these layers further towards the Rajapaksa regime. This flawed method was demonstrated graphically in their electoral losses. An appeal must be made to those students and workers, who are looking for a lead, to break away from the JVP and to join a genuine fightback.

But the JVP are not the only political party to deny the claims of the UN. Some in the capitalist opposition party UNP, such as PE Jayasuriya, still claim that: “Not a single innocent Tamil civilian was killed by the army during the war due to the leadership of the president Rajapaksa”.

Ironically, or not so ironically in the Sri Lankan context, Jayasuriya is also a member of the international human rights association! The deputy leader of the UNP, Karu Jayasuriya, also stated that the party will stand by the security forces, further lending their support to the government on this issue.

The racist Buddhist monks’ party, the JHU, is doing ‘all it can’ to support the government. “If Ban Ki-moon and the UN want to put President Rajapaksa on the electric chair, they have to put all of us, religious first,” said the Venerable Galagama Dhammaransi Thero adding: “We shall always protect and bless this courageous leader.”

Meanwhile the professed reconciliation commission set up by the government, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), declared that they will not comment or take any action regarding this report. The LLRC is a fake commission set up by the president and it is living up to his expectations.

Despite the anti-imperialist rhetoric to re-mobilise support based on Sinhala nationalism, both western imperialism and the Sri Lankan regime are clear on the limitations of the possible actions being taken against Sri Lanka.

UN hypocrisy

Despite the report’s own admission that “during the final stages of the war, the United Nations’ political organs and bodies failed to take actions that might have prevented civilians’ deaths” no ‘apology’ has been made on the part of the UN so far. Instead it continues its inaction.

Numerous appeals for action to stop the war and prevent mass murder of Tamil-speaking people were made during the war in early 2009. On Saturday 31 January 2009 over 100,000 marched through London in opposition to the slaughter. Internationally hundreds of thousands of Tamils and others took to the streets. After the war the demands for genuine humanitarian measures to be taken continued. In the silence and inaction on the part of the UN and governments, untold horror and mass murder took place. And the human rights abuses and killings continue to this date. This will not be forgotten.

The UN may now be trying to redeem its humanitarian credentials with this report. But the fact remains that the UN made no attempt whatsoever to stop the killings. Furthermore, it made no apology for passing a resolution, within just ten days of the major massacre, clearing the Sri Lankan government of wrong-doing. The resolution passed by the UN human rights council on 27 May 2009 welcomed the “conclusion of hostilities and the liberation by the government of Sri Lanka of tens of thousands of its citizens that were kept by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) against their will as hostages, as well as the efforts by the government to ensure the safety and security of all Sri Lankans and to bring permanent peace to the country”.

Not a single criticism of the Sri Lankan government is contained in the 27 May 2009 resolution. The resolution went even further politically: “Reaffirming the respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Sri Lanka and its sovereign rights to protect its citizens and to combat terrorism”.

In fact, the only condemnation was against the LTTE for launching “attacks on the civilian population” and “using civilians as human shields”. The recent panel report has not referred to, let alone, denounced any of this. It merely asks the UN human rights council to ‘reconsider’! The hypocrisy of the UN, as Professor Noam Chomsky pointed out, “was so profound, it was suffocating”.

One may hope that this panel report could be considered by all governments and governmental bodies as a minimum guidance before they embark on any relationship with the Sri Lankan government. Or it could lay the basis for an international war crimes investigation. However, we may never see such action take place.

Even though the UN gives the illusion that it is an independent body, it would be naïve to imagine that the UN will go beyond the interests of its major components: the US, the UK, India, China, Russia. It is not an independent body in any way. Nor does the UN have a credible record of preventing mass murders taking place in other areas of the world. The UN did not prevent the massacre in Congo for example. In Rwanda world state powers watched the genocide of up to a million people in a period of a few months.

The UN almost always takes the side of the imperialists. When it doesn’t, its actions have been blocked by powerful governments who can exercise a veto over UN activities. The oppressed masses have no voice to represent their interests in the course of the decision-making in the UN.

The UN Security Council consists of countries such as Russia, China and India who, not only funded the Sri Lankan government’s military, but continue to protect it. After the report was published the defence secretary, Gotabayah Rajapaksa, announced that Sri Lanka “will have to seek protection from countries like Russia and China”.

These governments’ actions are an extension of how they treat their own people. They have no concern for human rights. The brutal role of India in Kashmir and other parts of the country is well-known. None of the Indian governments have delivered on the UN agreement to hold a referendum in Kashmir. The Indian government’s massacre of tribal people and activists in the name of so-called ‘operation green hunt’ is widely published.

Similarly, the role of the Russian government in Chechnya, and Chinese human rights abuses in Tibet and the rest of the country are recognised globally. These states, which abuse the rights of the masses in their own country, have no problem cooperating with another government who commits war crimes, such as that of the Rajapaksa regime.

Part 2: UN and imperialist interest

The Sri Lankan government is increasingly relying on the support of China, India and some ‘rogue states’ such as Saudi Arabia. This conflicts with the interests of western imperialism in south Asia. Western imperialism could use the UN report as a lever to re-establish its influence in the region.

However, there is a limit to how far the west will go. We should not overestimate that this will lead it to either defend the interests of the oppressed masses, or to advocate the right to self-determination or any political solution.

Among the traditional left in India some argue that inter-imperialist rivalry can be used to advance the interests of the oppressed. However, without a strong, independent organisation of the working and poor masses, such a strategy risks forcing those who seek to fight back into the imperialists’ trap.

We have also seen how often the imperialists ‘gang up’ against the interests of the oppressed masses despite their differences. The Indian and Pakistan states, for example, campaigned together against any possible serious critics of the Sri Lankan government. Although Sri Lanka does not possess the huge oil wealth of Libya – one of the main reasons for western imperialism’s intervention – its strategic position, including its significance to china’s regional ambitions, makes it important to the western powers. The measures taken by the imperialists in the Middle East, after the revolutionary wave had begun to spread, provide us with good lessons.

The so-called ‘humanitarian intervention’ in Libya is an attempt to halt the sweeping revolutionary wave in the Middle East and with the intention of regaining control of the resources. Gaddafi is an unreliable partner for them, unlike the regimes in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. No action has been taken against these regimes despite them also unleashing deadly forces against pro-democracy protesters.

The British foreign secretary William Hague insisted that his government will ‘deal’ with the Syrian government and president Bashar al-Assad, defending his visit to Syria despite the killings taking place against the protesting masses. Assad is considered as a potential ‘reformer’. This is in complete contradistinction to the interests of the Syrian masses who demand the overthrow of the Assad regime.

Furthermore the role of western powers in Libya has been further discredited by their role in the slaughter of millions of ordinary people in Iraq. The contradictory role of so-called ‘humanitarian concern’ in the region clearly unmasks the imperialist interests of the western governments.

The idea that, somehow, the oppressed masses should lend their support to the western imperialists’ intervention in Libya- supposedly to prevent the ‘possible massacre’ -is also false. The Egyptian regime, which also voted to support the May 2009 UN resolution on Sri Lanka, was washed away by the historical mass movement of the Egyptian masses. It is such a confident movement that can bring a real end to the regimes like that of Gaddafi.

Imperialist intervention is another reason why the revolution, which spread from Tunisia and Egypt to Benghazi, is not having a similar impact in Tripoli. Gaddafi was able to mobilise reasonable support, not only based on tribal loyalty, but also based on the anti-imperialist antagonism of the masses. What can prevent the massacre and save the revolution is the action of the united Tripoli masses once it has the confidence to rise up against Gaddafi. Imperialist so-called humanitarian intervention is anything but that. Further more it has been a cause of many killings.

The Sri Lankan regime is similarly trying to thrive on anti-imperialist antagonism among the masses. The former Sri Lankan UN Ambassador, Dayan Jayatilleka, attacked the western imperialist powers at the 11th special session at UNHCR in May 2009 in order to win the so-called ‘anti imperialist’ support. “These are the same people who told the world Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. I wouldn’t buy a used car from these people let alone allegations of war crimes” he declared! Even this loyal servant got the sack from the president later for allegedly advocating “regional devolution” in a local newspaper. Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa went even further in his ‘analysis’ and announced, “They are jealous of us because they have not defeated terrorism as we have”. Another loyal servant to the Sri Lankan regime and the so-called world expert on terrorism, Professor Rohan Gunaratna, notes that: “In Iraq and Afghanistan where over a million civilians have been killed, there is no UN Panel advising the UN Secretary General to investigate war crimes”.

The regime is using the UN and imperialist hypocrisy to their advantage just like Gaddafi in Libya. While strongly opposing the human rights abuses and exploitation of imperialist powers, we have to also expose the hypocrisy behind the so called ‘anti-imperialist rhetoric’ of the Sri Lankan regime.

Despite the rhetoric, the Sri Lankan regime is ever so cooperative with both regional and western imperialist powers. The contradiction over ‘human rights’ is partly a due to the competition between the regional powers like China and India and Western Imperialism which seeks to establish favourable conditions to gain economic advantage. The IMF and the World Bank fully sanctioned loans to the Sri Lankan government and promote Sri Lanka as an ‘investment paradise’. The Sri Lankan government is now ruthlessly executing IMF-led policies such as privatisation, attacks on pensions and so-called tax reforms. The Rajapaksa regime’s alleged anti-imperialist rhetoric and whipping up of Sinhala nationalism is also intended to divert the attention of the working and poor masses from Rajapaksa’s brutal attacks on their living conditions and services.

Furthermore we will not see the IMF or World Bank withdraw their loans amid the ‘credible war crime’ allegations. Even after the UN panel report was leaked to the media key members in the US congress were advocating a ‘stronger US-Sri Lankan relationship’. The newly named co-chair of the Sri Lankan Congressional Caucus, Chris Van Hollen, who is also a Democrat and defends Obama’s cuts budget, is urging all his colleagues to support this call. In other words what, in reality, this report could achieve for the oppressed masses will be very minimal.

US Assistant Secretary Robert Blake who visited Sri Lanka after the UN report was published gave the government their full support. He praised the ‘positive progress’ and stated that the LLRC (Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission- is strongly criticised in the UN report) is playing an ‘important role’. In a statement published on 4th of May, Mr O Blake states “In my official meetings today, I assured the Sri Lankan government that the U.S. is committed to a strong long-term partnership with Sri Lanka and that reports of our alleged support for “regime change” have no basis whatsoever. I expressed support for the government’s efforts to recover from its devastating civil war, and encouraged further steps towards reconciliation and a peaceful, united, democratic Sri Lanka”. There is a very brief mention of the UN report where he states that it underlines the importance of a political solution that can forge a united Sri Lanka” and the importance of Sri Lanka’s “dialogue with the UN”! This is exactly the kind of hypocritical behaviour we can expect from the imperialist powers!

 

Part 3: Attack on the Diaspora and lack of a political solution

Among the five reasons listed in the UN report as ‘obstacles to accountability’ is the ‘role of the Tamil Diaspora’. “Some refuse to acknowledge the LTTE’s role in the humanitarian disaster in the Vanni, which is creating a further obstacle to accountability and sustainable peace”, the report claims.

There is no doubt that Diaspora Tamils have been the most vigorous voice against the killing that took place in Sri Lanka while the establishments in every country remained silent.

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in disgust. The inaction of western and international governmental bodies radicalised a huge number, particularly of young people.

It is no exaggeration to say that young Tamils in the Diaspora are more politicised than during the last 30 years of war. New waves of youth are involved in political activities. Various youth organisations were formed as the result of this politicisation.

Tamil Solidarity aims to bring together the best of these youth to wage a principled fightback against the Sinhala chauvinist regime and is calling for a united struggle of all the oppressed masses.

This politicisation is definitely not a favourable outcome for either western imperialism or for the Sri Lankan regime. They prefer the controllable ‘diplomats’, those who will keep society passive on their behalf, not the youth who rebel in anger against injustice. During the war, ministers/MPs in the then Labour government in Britain made numerous promises in an attempt to buy off and control the protesting youth. It kept none of these promises.

The establishments sense a ‘danger’ in the direction that this Diaspora youth movement may take. Quite correctly young people are drawing the conclusion that the attack on the oppressed Tamils is also a fight against all oppressed masses. More and more young people are actively participating in local politics in their respective countries against the injustices; against racism; against the attack on minorities; against youth unemployment; and against the attacks on their public services.

Furthermore there is also an emerging insistence on democracy; the urge to work with trade unions, left organisations and other organisations that campaign for rights and against oppression.

The establishment wishes to undermine this process. They wish to pacify and derail this anger, understanding that increasingly the rage is directed at it. And they want to push these youth to the right of the political spectrum.

Accusing the Diaspora of silence over the alleged crimes of the LTTE is one way of doing this is at this stage. With this aim they propagate the Diaspora’s complete dismissal of the LTTE and expect its cooperation in the so-called ‘development and reconciliation’ in a united Sri Lanka.

Strong campaigning groups, such as Tamil Solidarity, while standing firmly against the Sri Lankan regime, consistently questioned the methods of the LTTE. We carefully explained the reasons behind the defeat of the LTTE.  One of the Tigers’ key failures was not appealing to the struggling masses in the south of Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu and around the world.

We also criticised the LTTE with regard to the internal killings, attacks against the Muslim population, and the shooting of civilians in the final phase of the war. The majority of the active layer in the Diaspora will not deny these facts.

This analysis is important, not just to criticise the LTTE but to advance the struggle. This is a crucial part of working out a strategy for the next stage of the struggle. This is completely different to the UN’s agenda behind its attack on the LTTE.

The idea that the Diaspora somehow wants to promote terrorism is completely false. However, in the face of the immense violence against the Tamil-speaking population in Sri Lanka, the Tamil youth’s first response will not be directed against the LTTE leadership, all of whom have been murdered by the government of Sri Lanka. Instead their focus, undoubtedly, will be against the murderous Sri Lankan government and the western establishment who continued to keep their silence.

Advising the Diaspora that their key role is to denounce the LTTE is aimed at paving the way towards Tamil cooperation with the Sri Lankan state. Such collaboration may not be with the current government, directly responsible for the genocide, but it may be with future Sri Lankan governments that the west will hope to do business with. At the same time, it is equally important for the Diaspora Tamils to distance themselves from the mistakes of the LTTE, allowing no room for right-wing bodies such as the UN to attack Diaspora campaigns.

A mere understanding of the role of imperialism, and the desire to resist it, is not enough. Building a serious independent organisation that uncompromisingly defends the rights of all oppressed masses is the key to taking the struggle forward. This should be done on the basis of not only opposing the Rajapaksa government and his cronies, but also should base itself on opposing all forms of oppression. A thorough understanding of society’s class forces in action is required to build a movement that will be capable of bringing about fundamental change.

This movement can be built by bringing together progressive activists, trade unions and socialists. But it’s no easy task, as several barriers must be overcome before the trust of the masses can be won. The betrayal of the once powerful organisation of the oppressed masses, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), is still fresh in the minds of the working masses in Sri Lanka.

The LSSP’s decision to join the right-wing government in 1964 and subsequently denying the rights of minorities in the 1972 constitution set the background for the weakening of the working class and a heightening of ethnic tensions. The working class’s strength had been constantly attacked by the subsequent right-wing governments. Today the rump of the LSSP is actually in the government playing the rotten role of covering up war crimes.

Similarly the betrayal by the Tamil parties will also not be forgotten. In the absence of a genuine and independent mass organisation of the workers and poor, parties like the JVP have muddied the water even further by mixing Marxist and anti-establishment rhetoric with Sinhala chauvinist Buddhist nationalism.

Against this background winning the trust back from the masses to build a fighting movement may seem impossible. However, rebuilding such a movement is the only way to end the oppression, exploitation and war. Furthermore, there are genuine forces in the south who still firmly stand on the side of the oppressed masses. The United Socialist Party, for example, never steps back from its consistent fight against brutal Sri Lankan governments. Nor has it ever waived in its support for the right to self determination of the Tamil-speaking masses. During the war USP members risked their lives and campaigned vehemently to stop the war which was widely reported in the mainstream media in Tamil Nadu, India.

We must join forces with such organisation and strengthen our fight back. We should also appeal to the oppressed masses in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu to join forces with us.

It would be foolish to place hope in the Sri Lankan government or any external power to deliver a solution for us. The attacks against the minorities in Sri Lanka have never been higher and yet the current government has completely ruled out any effort towards a political solution.

The president infamously declared that: “There are no minorities in the country”. Neither will the UN or any state powers advocate any political solution either. The right to self determination is out of the question for all such powers.

Some even argue that opposing imperialism may alienate any potential support from the so-called ‘international community’, the western governments. But, in the long run, the oppressed masses will not gain anything by allying with any oppressor. Instead there is much to lose – the valuable support of those who fight against them – and they cannot be trusted to act in anything but the interests of their own capitalist classes.

For example ordinary Tamil people cannot call the British Conservative (Tory) party an ally on the basis of some MPs’ mere rhetoric of human rights. This would be a betrayal of the millions of working people in Britain, of all backgrounds, who face the constant barrage of attacks on jobs, public services, such as health care provision and education, and benefits from the Tory/Liberal Democrat coalition government.

By allying with such an anti-working class party Tamils would, not only lose potential support from those challenging these cuts, but would also betray the Tamil masses by creating false hope.

In fact the pro-big business approach of the Tories stands diametrically opposed to supporting any form of fightback by the poor and the workers. Their interest lies purely with the bosses and business people who want to hide the massacre that took place in Sri Lanka and instead to promote the establishment of free trade zones in the north. These will be sites of concentrated exploitation of Tamil-speaking youth. Rajapaksa has already promised ‘cheap labour’ in the form of so-called ‘rehabilitation’ of the ex-Tigers! So the question of who to ally with is a crucial one. That should be those who genuinely fight back against inequality and exploitation.

Amidst the world economic crisis and food shortages, struggle against governments who are making similar cuts in jobs and public services has been increasing in Europe and beyond.

In London,UK, over half a million workers marched on 26 March against the Con-Dem government. In Portugal, and Spain hundreds of thousand marched for the same reasons. Massive class battles are taking place in Greece. These governments, while attacking services, are also attempting to whip up racism and other divisions in the respective countries. There is an attempt to point the finger of blame at immigrants, on the basis of pressure on limited services and jobs, in the hope that they will be scape-goated.  If the blame for the cuts is directed at other sections of the working class and poor it allows governments to carry out its policies in the interests of the rich and big business.

This is a similar process to that of the Sri Lankan government which attempted to divert attention and divide opposition through Sinhala nationalism so it could carry through its brutal policies.

We, the workers, ethnic minorities, the young and the poor, bear the brunt of these attacks. As minorities in these countries, Tamils are also on the receiving end of racial and other abuses whipped up by right-wing parties and the media. These attacks must be confronted.

Let it be known that wherever we are we will stand against oppression of all kinds and fight back. This fightback will further be strengthened if we make common cause with the struggles starting to take place across Europe.

No rights can be won without a struggle. In this light, that youth have joined the anti-racist marches and workers’ demonstrations in Britain and Belgium is a significant development. That Tamil-speaking people joined the May Day protests across Europe this year is also a good step forward. And it is such solidarity and unity that sends fear into the heart of the oppressors, be they in the Sri Lankan regime or its counterparts.

Unite to build fight back

It is understandable that the Tamils in Sri Lanka are hoping against hope that the UN report may mark a step towards in support for their struggle for rights.

It is understandable that some poor Tamils in Sri Lanka hope some ‘outside force’ may come to their aid. But there is no point in creating any illusions for the sake of giving temporary comfort. However, Tamil Solidarity will demand that the UN at least takes some steps to implement the recommendation made in its report. If the UN fails to take serious actions against the Sri Lankan government its hypocrisy will be further exposed.

But the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is trying to use this longing of the Tamil-speaking people to create a vote bank for itself. It does so by creating hope that the UN and even India will help. There is an attempt to hide the fact that India played a crucial role in the war. It is important to remember that the Sri Lankan government could not have won the war without the support of India and China.

That the Indian government refuses to make any criticism of the current Sri Lankan regime, even after wider acceptance that mass murder took place during the war, should be of no surprise. It will be criminal for the TNA to create illusions in the very forces which played a part in the mass murder of Tamils and which still continues the policy of further exploitation of the victims.

The TNA, while becoming increasingly ‘friendly’ with the current murderous regime with the hilarious argument that they have no other that option, refuses to seek an ally in those forces who continue to fight for the rights of the Tamil-speaking people.

The TNA is clearly taking the path of its forerunner, the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), which ‘talked the talk’ in Tamil areas to gain votes while joining hand-in-hand with the oppressors in the parliament. This is one of the reasons that forced the youth to take up arms eventually.

The youth and the activists in Sri Lanka should break away from this sort of misleading politics. They should join forces with the real fighters and campaigners in the country. There is much to gain for the oppressed masses by opposing the government on various platforms, much more than playing pointless ‘negotiation’ games.

There are journalists, activists, and the genuine left in the country who continue their fight for the rights to self determination of the Tamil-speaking masses. Ever since the end of the war they are forcefully speaking out against the emergency law, and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

The government claims that it has won the war against ‘terrorism’ but still keeps these draconian laws. These campaigns should be strengthened. Those forces vehemently fighting for media freedom and democratic rights, who are even risking their lives to do so, must also be supported.

Most importantly the creation of free trade zones promised by the regime to Indian, Chinese and western governments must be energetically opposed. These zones will not be so-called ‘rehabilitation’ centres, as the regime wants to portray them as. Rather they will be sweatshops where war victims and ex-LTTE members will be forced to work for as little as possible remuneration.

The rebuilding of strong trade unions is urgently required as the best organisations to oppose these cruel working conditions.  Such workers’ organisations could also effectively challenge the inhuman treatments and low wages that already exist. Rocketing food prices, for example, will be another ‘fire starter’ for a mass movement against the government, as was the case in Tunisia.

‘Negotiations’ and ‘cooperation’ with the oppressors will never deliver good results for the poor and oppressed. To win and defend our rights the urgent task is the building of independent parties of the workers and poor and strong and democratic trade unions