US TORTURE NOTHING NEW  (The following editorial is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) HOW APPALLING IT IS to hear military and political leaders of the USA, the world's number one terror state, whine that the torture of prisoners in Iraq is an "aberration" committed by "a few bad apples." The truth is that mass murder and torture have been the weapons of US imperialism for decades in every corner of the world. The gruesome crimes committed in Iraq are no exception - they are the rule. Those timid souls who think this is an exaggeration need to recall the facts. The entire history of the westward expansion of the USA is one of genocide, such as the brutal massacre at Wounded Knee. For decades, the US military has trained Latin American police and military forces at the "School of the Americas", whose graduates are infamous for their refined use of torture against the most courageous defenders of the people. It was the United States which used poison, bombs, napalm and other weapons of mass destruction to murder two million Vietnamese and maim countless more. Nothing different could have been expected when the US and Britain cobbled together the so-called "coalition" which carried out the illegal war against Iraq. Our call should not be for the resignation of Defence Secretary Rumsfeld and other officials in Washington and London. Instead, we call once again to put these war criminals on trial, just as the leaders of Hitler's Third Reich face judgement at Nuremberg for their crimes against humanity. Until then, every effort must be made to get all the occupation forces out of Iraq, so that the Iraqi people can decide their own future free of interference. (Back) (Home) NEEDED: A NEW DEAL FOR CITIES (The following editorial is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) THE FASCINATING TALE of RAV continues to unfold. On May 7, faced with saddling taxpayers in the Greater Vancouver Regional District with hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs to build and operate the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver transit line, several GVRD representatives dropped their previous support for the project. By a 7-5 vote, they killed RAV, at least for now. But the story isn't over. Big business interests, eager to make a killing at taxpayers' expense, want the provincial Liberals to use their extraordinary legislative powers to override the GVRD. That would suit the federal Liberals just fine, considering their longstanding close ties with Bombardier and SNC-Lavalin, the two transnationals vying to build the lucrative project. What next? Maybe another phony survey of GVRD residents to "prove" our eagerness for RAV? (Sample question: if enough money falls from the sky to build a transit line made of solid gold, capable of taking you from the airport to downtown in ten seconds, would you be in favour?) The real issue here - and in every major city - is municipal authority. Paul Martin claims to be the voice of Canada's cities, but this is simply election posturing. The Communist Party's platform calls for real change. A new financial deal for cities would give constitutional status and wealth taxing powers to municipalities, return 50% of gas and road user taxes to cities, and ensure federal funding of 25% of the capital costs of urgently needed mass transit. It would mean steps to rebuild crumbling local infrastructure, and to reverse the unfunded downloading of social programs onto cities by higher governments. Judge the candidates not by their flowery sentiments, but by their willingness to commit to policies that will make a difference! (Back) (Home) DESPITE SETBACK, HEALTH WORKERS STRUGGLE CONTINUES (The following article is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) STATEMENT FROM THE BC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, COMMUNIST PARTY OF CANADA May 5 - After a week of job action that was on the brink of escalating across British Columbia, over 40,000 health care workers have returned to their jobs. News releases from the Hospital Employees' Union and the BC Federation of Labour are calling the May 2 memorandum of agreement ending the strike a "victory," while many rank-and-file members are wondering what they just lost a week's wages for. The fact that health care workers will not be given the opportunity to accept or reject the agreement has sparked widespread anger and debate. Ever since its election, the Campbell government has conducted a sustained attack to break unions and privatize public services. The massive outpouring of support for the health care workers reflects the fact that working people increasingly reject these policies, leaving this vicious government more isolated. The government's interference in collective bargaining has reached a new level. Not only have the Liberals legislated strikers back to work and imposed a contract - we've seen that since their inauguration - but the terms were so offensive that the general public was shocked. Bill 37 was rammed through the Legislature on April 29, four days after the strike began. The Bill includes a 15% clawback in wages and benefits, retroactive to April 1; a longer work week; cuts to overtime by up to two hours per day at the employers' whim; cuts to seniority rights and access of part-timers to extra hours, and no job security for the two year duration of the contract. In response, thousands of British Columbians joined the picket lines, and over 10,000 people took part in Vancouver's May Day rally. Over 25,000 CUPE members walked out on April 30, and a number of unions prepared for escalating job action in support of the hospital workers. Much of the province would have been shut down on Monday, May 3, including schools, government offices, public transit in the Lower Mainland and Victoria, and the ferry system. There was growing potential for walkouts by many private sector workers. This was the kind of militant action many workers have wanted since the Campbell Liberals announced huge cuts in services and jobs in January 2002, the kind of action that even this government could not ignore. Such a strategy required the continued mass mobilization of BC Federation of Labour affiliates. Instead, the BC Fed mobilized its leadership to meet with the government and reach an eleventh hour deal, ending the strike without allowing the membership to decide whether to accept or reject the terms. By rendering the membership powerless, the leadership divided the fightback, making the next rounds of the struggle far more difficult. While public sector strikes are always difficult to carry out, since they inconvenience the same people whose support for workers is so critical, there comes a time when we have to say "enough is enough". That's what the HEU workers did when they chose to defy Bill 37 and stay on their picket lines. Is this deal worthy of their courage and determination? The Communist Party does not believe that the May 2 memorandum passes this test. We salute the health care workers for their militant struggle to defend their hard-won pay levels and working conditions. Their strike was a powerful action in defence of the health care system, which is under sharp attack by right-wing governments and corporations across Canada. The May 2 memorandum includes the 15% clawback, as of May 1 rather than April 1. Contracting out has been capped at 600 FTEs over the next two years. The government found $25 million for an enhanced severance package, which could have helped pay decent wages to many housekeepers, dietary aides and others who have been pushed into a low wage ghetto through contracting out of their work. Vince Ready will arbitrate any issues arising from the deal. On the whole, the memorandum restores about $37 million to health care workers, who are being forced to surrender an estimated $500 million in concessions. It is not surprising that these workers believe that a better settlement could have been reached through further mass struggle. One of the arguments raised in support of the deal is the threat of jail terms and heavy fines - nearly half a million dollars per day for the HEU. That is a valid consideration, but it only goes to show that workers can rarely expect help from the courts, which are instruments of corporate power in a capitalist society. Throughout Canadian history, trade union leaders have been fined and jailed for refusing to accept attacks on the rights of their members, including UFAWU leader Homer Stevens, Jean-Claude Parrot of the Postal Workers, CUPE's Grace Hartman, and many more. Premier Gordon Campbell pontificates about obeying the law, a hypocritical statement considering his personal history and the fact that his government has drawn censure from the ILO for violating international standards and agreements. Just recently, after the courts struck down provisions of Bill 19 which stripped class size limits in BC Teachers' Federation contracts, the Liberals simply re-wrote the law, stating brazenly that their bill applies "despite any decision of a court to the contrary." Why was the May 2 memorandum accepted? Reports indicate that the leadership of the Hospital Employees Union was divided over the deal, which was pushed by the BC Federation of Labour. It appears that the majority of the HEU and BCFL leaders feared that wider job actions could develop into a powerful mass movement, capable of challenging the moral right of the Campbell Liberals to remain in office. The possibility arose of forcing an early provincial election, in which the Liberals would have campaigned to smash the power of organized labour. This scenario would have upset plans to use the next twelve months to build support for a strong NDP campaign in May 2005. In essence, the May 2 memorandum cynically sacrifices the interests of health care workers in hopes of improving the NDP's chances of winning the next election by de-escalating the mass fightback. Ironically, the outcome may actually hurt the NDP's electoral chances. The question now is: what's next? The Campbell government will continue its program of attacking workers and privatising public assets, as part of the global campaign of transnational capital to pad their already huge profits on the backs of working people. The immediate challenge for labour activists will be to build solidarity for the battles still to be fought. Despite divisions arising from the May 2 memorandum, we need to remember that tens of thousands of BC workers were ready to walk out to defend their sisters and brothers. We urge steps to build on this remarkable achievement. CUPE, the BC Nurses Union, the BC Teachers' Federation and other public sector employees face difficult negotiations in the months ahead, and all require assistance to stand up against this government. Right across the country, labour and the people's movements are rising up to oppose privatization, especially in health care. The BC experience proves that mass, united actions against privatization are both crucial and possible. We call upon the BC Fed and the Canadian Labour Congress to adopt this approach, to lead the fight for public sector jobs and standards, and for quality public services. This struggle requires a stronger organized left within the trade union movement to push for mass, independent labour political action, to fight for class struggle policies, to support leadership committed to struggle, and to build a militant fighting trade union movement based on inner-union democracy and membership control. To win, labour needs to move from a defensive to an offensive position, developing its strategy and tactics accordingly. In response to political parties seeking labour's support, the BC Fed and its affiliates need to demand full support for the repeal of unjust labour laws, support for unfettered free collective bargaining, restoration (and improvement) of wages, hours, and working conditions, and commitments to end contracting out and to restore and expand funding for health care and social services. Much will be said and written about the deal which cut short the May 3 walkouts. In our view, the members of the unions affected and the delegates to next fall's BC Fed convention will render their judgment. The leaders of both the HEU and the BC Fed will have to answer to their memberships for their decisions. Similarly, the membership of the NDP will have to assess their party's role in announcing support for concessions over a longer period, which helped set the stage for the May 2 memorandum. However, we also stress that the blame for this situation lies with the Campbell government and its corporate backers. The Liberals have fallen sharply in the polls, almost entirely because of public opposition to their far-right policies. The BC Fed convention will likely see a huge push to help the NDP win the next election. This is not surprising, given that working people are desperate to defeat Campbell's government, and since proposals for a unified anti-Liberal electoral strategy have foundered. Instead of turning the BC Fed convention into a polarised debate over the NDP, or over "general strike vs. electoral tactics," we again urge the labour movement to adopt a rounded fightback plan, one which focuses on mass mobilization of union members and our communities around the key issues facing working people. Relying on a purely parliamentary approach is not enough, especially since there are no guarantees that a new NDP government would implement progressive policies. Such a militant approach, one which advances independent labour political action, is the best way to build unity with the growing grassroots movements against the Liberals. (Back) (Home) MONTREAL'S RECORD FIRST OF MAY DRAWS 100,000 (The following article is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) By Kenneth Higham MONTREAL'S MAY FIRST demonstration by about 100,000 was without a doubt the biggest May Day demonstration of all time in Canada. Question: How can you fit 100,000 people into a parade route barely two kilometres long? Answer: You can't. Montreal traffic was paralysed for the better part of the day. Bumper to bumper lines of busses filled the highways from Tunnel Hypolite-Lafontaine, coming on to the island, right up to Exit Saint-Laurent of the Autoroute Métropolitan (about 20 kilometres). As busses continued arriving, they were forced to debark their passengers further and further away from the demonstration starting point of Parc Normanville. The march started at one o'clock, but for all to participate it was a long wait. When the first demonstrators arrived at Parc Jarry, the march's destination, others were still showing up at Parc Normanville to join the end of the parade which had not yet started. When the Communist Party contingent arrived at Parc Jarry it was almost four o'clock, and the park was full. We were just at the edge of the park and could get no farther. The rhythmical movement of so many people, balloons, banners and picket signs was absolutely hypnotising. The noise of this demonstration reached all Quebec with a clear message heard by all except Monsieur Charest, who never listened to the people before and does not seem ready to do so now. I wish I could re-enact the demonstration's "hip-hop" theme song for you. Close your eyes and try to imagine 100,000 Quebecois, united in anger, dancing together, singing "Jean Charest privatiserait meme sa mere, pauvre mere, pauvre mere..." (Jean Charest, would privatise even his mother, oh poor mother, oh poor mother...). (EDITOR'S NOTE: Quebec workers and their allies in the social movements are now preparing for the next round in this struggle. It appears likely that another huge day of protest will be organized later this spring or early in the fall. Unless the Charest government has been forced to back down, a full-scale general strike would probably be the next step. Shortly afer the massive May Day rally in Montreal, Premier Charest announced plans to chop another 16,000 government jobs, not including more in the health and education sectors. So evidently it will take further militant action to change the present right-wing policies in Quebec.) (Back) (Home) HEALTH CARE: ROMANOW'S STRENGTHS AND SHORTCOMINGS (The following article is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) PV Vancouver Bureau FOR MONTHS, Paul Martin has been trying to create the impression that the federal Liberals are the true defenders of universal public Medicare, while Stephen Harper's Conservatives are out to create a two-tiered medical system. Harper denies the accusation and charges the Liberals with failure to protect the right of Canadians to access free medical care. With an election about to begin, many observers point out that both leaders are being less than truthful. A wide range of labour and people's movements are demanding that all parties pledge to implement the recommendations of the Romanow Commission, which have been virtually ignored by the major right-wing parties. On May 21, some 3,000 people will jam Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre to hear Roy Romanow, the former Saskatchewan premier. Organized by the Council of Senior Citizens Organizations of BC (COSCO), the event is intended to help make medicare a key issue on the campaign trail. One organization which studied the Romanow report, the National Union of Provincial and General Employees (NUPGE) issued a useful report card, weighing up the strengths and shortcomings of the recommendations. On the crucial issue of public funding, NUPGE gave the Romanow Report an "A" for recommending that Ottawa provide "adequate, predictable, and stable public funding for Medicare." The Commission advocates a multi-billion dollar injection of federal funds until it reaches a 25% minimum cash floor of Canada Health Act insured services: $6.5 billion more per year by 2006. This reaches the funding benchmark demanded by most unions and the Canada Health Coalition. The report also recommends that the CHST be replaced with a Canada Health Transfer to the provinces, with a built-in escalator provision so that federal funding keeps pace with economic growth. The Romanow Commission received a slightly lower "B" grade for its position on for-profit medicare. The report states that: "Medicare is a moral enterprise, not a commercial venture.... It is a far greater perversion of Canadian values to accept a system where money, rather than need, determines who gets access to care." The report concludes that private, for-profit health care runs the risk of being more expensive, providing worse care and undermining the value of fairness. The Commission calls for action to curb private for-profit MRI and other diagnostic services clinics, concluding that these lead to queue-jumping which violates the principles of the Canada Health Act. It also concludes that Public-Private Partnerships will cost taxpayers more than if the government had simply done the job itself in the first place, and notes that P3s can lead to a reduction in staffing levels. However, NUPGE says, "the report does have a major weakness on the issue of privatization. It offers reasons and suggests there is evidence that contracting-out of non-medical services such as food preparation, laundry, maintenance and cleaning is okay. This is not the right thing to recommend or the smart thing to recommend and therefore the report, on this point, is extremely disappointing... In addition, while the report is critical of P3s it stops short of recommending they be banned completely..." The union gives the Romanow Commission an "A" grade for debunking myths about private health care, and exposing the lie that public Medicare is unsustainable, unaffordable or inefficient. Other areas where the Commission gets a high mark include an "A" for its position on Primary Care Reform (full-service community health clinics, improved cultural diversity and removing language barriers, more emphasis on wellness and disease prevention programs, etc.); an "A-" for proposing to adding a national pharmacare program to the Canada Health Act, and to to review patent laws which allow pharmaceutical companies to reap huge profits; and an "A" for its call to exclude health services from all international trade deals such as NAFTA. NUPGE gives the Commission an "A-" on issues related to women's equality in health care. On this subject, the Commission recommends financial aid for those (mostly women) who have to stay at home to care for sick, elderly or disabled relatives, and calls for reversing the trend to privatization, which is wiping out the jobs and incomes of women health care workers. However, this section also offers reasons for contracting-out some support services. On some other issues, the NUPGE analysis is less positive. While it gives the Commission a "B" for proposing to add home care to the Canada Health Act, it says the report suggests that home support/personal support services could be left out of the Act, which "would not be the right thing to do or the smart thing to do. These are services that allow people to live with dignity in their own homes. That both improves care and saves money by keeping people out of hospitals." NUPGE is most critical on the issue of adding long term care to the Canada Health Act, where it gives the Romanow Report a "D": "The Romanow report is a dismal failure on this Objective. The report does not make any recommendations at all for institutional care. It assumes, for the most part, that through home care reform and increased coverage of acute and palliative home care services under the CHA, the demand for beds in long-term care institutions would be reduced. The report does not recommend national standards for long-term institutions and it does not recommend new immediate public funding for long-term care. The total lack of recommendations in this area is clearly a major win for the huge private corporations involved in the long-term care industry i.e. Extendicare." Clearly, while the recommendations of the Romanow Commission would mark an improvement over the trend towards destruction of Medicare, it is far from a complete solution. (Back) (Home) STUDENT PROTESTOR EXPELLED AT YORK U (The following article is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) By Tom Bull THE YORK UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION is attempting to silence free speech and repress student activism, the York Free Speech Committee says. The Committee and its on- and off-campus supporters have reacted sharply to the decision of the University to expel Dan Freeman-Maloy for three years for unauthorized use of a megaphone. On October 23, 2003, and again on March 16, 2004, he was accused of using a megaphone at protests defending the rights of the Palestinian people, and opposing Israel's illegal occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Freeman-Maloy is a social justice activist, who is both Jewish and anti-Zionist, an advocate for Palestinian rights, and anti-militarist. Although he was to become an editor at the main student paper on campus, is still to complete his exams for the current year, and has one year left in his studies, he will be charged with trespassing if he is found on university property. No other York student has ever been disciplined for the use of a megaphone, authorized or not, by the university administration. In attempting to justify its decision in this case, the administration claims that classes were disrupted, and that the action "contributed to the threat of harm and safety of York University community members." Freeman-Maloy received no notice of a hearing, contrary to university regulations which provide that only serious infractions, such as Ontario Human Rights Code violations or illegal behaviour, warrant expulsion. These violations are not an isolated incident. The York Free Speech Committee states "York's administration has suspended several student clubs, prevented leafleting and the setting up of tables by student groups, and imposed prohibitively high fees on progressive clubs wishing to use rooms for public events." York professor David McNally points out that these actions reflect a "concerted effort to roll back the rights of political expression" that have been fought for over the years by the student movement. Freeman-Maloy has the support of CUPE local 3903 at York University, as well as students, staff and faculty, and 100 letters from around the world. The York Free Speech Committee encourages individuals and organizations to send letters of protest to Lorna Marsden, president of York University. (Back) (Home) PRESSURE FORCES MCGUINTY TO WIPE MEAL TAX OFF TABLE (The following article is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) By Faiqa Khan NOT LONG AFTER Ontario's Liberal Party came into power, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a $5.6 billion deficit left behind by the former Conservative government. To get around this problem, he also announced a work plan to consult Ontarians on measures to balance the budget while restoring public services. After having cut down on hospital programs, shutting down several schools and breaking numerous campaign promises, Premier McGuinty proposed the idea of an 8% provincial sales tax to basic meals under four dollars consumed away from home. With most people eating on the go, this seemed like an effective solution. Every single day more than a million people in Ontario eat meals under $4, because school, work and travel prevent them from getting home. In the document "Delivering Change: Budget Town Hall 2004" released by McGuinty's office, the reason given was that "previous governments have created a number of tax loopholes. For example, the government doesn't tax prepared meals that cost less than $4, therefore creating a loophole for fast food. The government loses $200 million every year by allowing this loophole to exist. Does this make sense to citizens and business?" Not really, Premier McGuinty. Poverty activists and food service operators, with wide support from Ontarians, joined a province-wide petition to protest this tax. Poverty activists said that for the poor, the notion of eating healthy is veiled by concerns about eating at all. The food service industry has suffered tremendously in the past year due to an unprecedented series of events - SARS, the war in Iraq, the August 2003 blackout, the rising Canadian dollar which drove down tourism spending - and refuses to suffer more. Due to the enormous consumer backlash and the success of the public campaign set up by the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association and the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, McGuinty announced that he will not proceed with meal tax. In 1987, a previous Liberal government put an end to the sales tax on basic foods, realizing that people cannot get home for every meal. "It's unacceptable that Premier McGuinty is taxing milk, salads and sandwiches for low and modest income Ontarians while those with incomes above $100,000 continue to enjoy a 35% tax cut," said Howard Hampton, leader of the Ontario NDP. "These are basic meals for many Ontarians. They eat at Joe's Diner. Only cabinet members chow down at Canoe." A low-or modest-income family spends more of their income on meals away from home than a wealthier family. These people are average, hard-working citizens such as healthcare workers, teachers and students, many of whom are already struggling to make ends meet. Had the proposed 8% tax been implemented, it would have taken more than $200 million out of consumers' pockets, putting a lot of foodservice operators out of business and resulting in lay-offs, while leaving the poor with the harsh reality of cutting back on consumption. (Back) (Home) A New Direction: A People's Alternative for Canada! The Communist Party's 2004 Election Platform (The following article is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) Strengthen Canadian sovereignty - build a better country Canadian sovereignty is under threat as never before. In order to defend our sovereignty, and guarantee the democratic right of the peoples of Canada to truly be masters of our own destiny, we need to strike out in a new direction based on policies that place the needs and concerns of working people first, not the narrow profit interests of big business. This will require a comprehensive plan for economic and social development and an independent foreign policy of peace which would achieve the following goals: Reject the corporate "globalization" agenda Curb the domination of U.S. and other transnational corporations over key sectors of the domestic economy, and block moves toward "deep integration" of Canada into "Fortress America". Pull Canada out of NAFTA, and say "NO" to the Free Trade Area of the Americas and all other corporate-driven trade and investment deals. Diversify fair and mutually beneficial multilateral trade based on respect for the economic, social and cultural sovereignty of all countries. Reverse the de-industrialization of Canada Canada needs a strong steel and automobile industry - cornerstones of Canada's wealth-producing economic base. Legislate tariffs and duties to protect jobs. Government assistance to large corporations must be tied to clear production and job requirements and the right to seize corporate assets for non-fulfilment. Bring in foreign exchange controls and block foreign takeovers. Restrict capital flight and 'runaway plants" by forcing large corporations to show 'just cause' in public tribunals; legislate a 2-year notice of mass layoffs and increase employer-paid severance pay and retraining, and change bankruptcy laws to ensure that workers' wages and pensions are protected first, not last. Develop environmentally sound primary industries, manufacturing, and housing. Canada needs a shipbuilding industry, a merchant marine, and machine tool, agricultural implement and appliance industries to build the country and to create jobs for ourselves and our children. Increase the 'value-added' component or resource exports to secure jobs and investment. Create well-paid jobs and raise living standards Legislate a 32-hour work week with no loss in take-home pay and no loss in service to the public; ban compulsory overtime, raise statutory paid vacations to four weeks. Lower the voluntary pension age to 60 and substantially increase public pensions. Guarantee benefits for part-time, home-based and contract workers. Raise the federal minimum wage to $12/hour. Stop the theft of the Employment Insurance fund, and set benefits at 90% of previous earnings to cover all unemployed for the duration of unemployment. Rebuild social programs and public infrastructure. Spend at least 1% of the federal budget on social and non-profit housing. Enact a fair wage policy and full pay equity for women workers. Promote worker-run cooperatives. Stop privatization - extend public ownership & democratic control No to privatization and contracting-out of health, education and other public services. Reverse the privatization of Air Canada, PetroCanada and CN Rail. Oppose the privatization and deregulation of electricity - defend public ownership and democratic control of power! Stop the corporate plunder of energy and natural resources, including forestry, fisheries, oil & gas, and mineral wealth. Cap energy prices, especially for home heating. Prevent the privatization and export of Canada's water! Put the banking and insurance system under public ownership and democratic control. Restore funding for the CBC, the arts and Canadian culture. Defend Medicare - expand social programs Commit to major reinvestment in social services. Substantially increase and re-establish tied funding to provinces for health, education, social housing and welfare, and enhance all-Canada standards, while ensuring that Quebec retains control and administration of its own programs. Maintain equalization payments to provinces. Block provincial attacks on Medicare; enforce the Canada Health Act and implement the Romanow recommendations. Scrap the Drug Patent Act (which guarantees mega-profits for the big pharmaceuticals, and high costs for health care), and introduce universal eye-, pharma-and denti-care. Stop the "war on drugs"; treat addiction as a medical problem, not a criminal act. Establish universally accessible, quality, non-profit childcare with Canada- wide standards - no more delays! Stop the war against the poor, ban "workfare" and introduce a universal minimum liveable income. Protect and expand the public pension system to become the primary system of pensions for all workers. PEOPLE BEFORE PROFITS! Tax the greedy, not the needy Legislate a truly progressive tax system, based on ability to pay! Increase the corporate tax rate to 19%, and tax all capital gains, both realized and unrealized. Substantially increase taxes on resource extraction. End tax loopholes and shelters; collect deferred corporate taxes and tax the speculators. Impose a special "windfall profit tax" on large oil and other resource companies. Jail terms for corporate tax evaders! Eliminate taxes on incomes under $35,000/yr. Scrap the regressive GST. Impose wealth and inheritance taxes on estates over $700,000. An independent foreign policy of peace, global disarmament and social justice No Canadian participation in US military aggression. No to the US Missile Defence "Star Wars" plan. Get out of the NATO and NORAD military alliances. Demand immediate withdrawal of the US and UK from Iraq, and free elections supervised by the United Nations and other international bodies. Pull Canadian troops out of Afghanistan and Haiti. Reject policies of "humanitarian" intervention, "regime change" and "pre-emptive" aggression, and respect international law. Reduce the military budget by 50%, converting military to civilian jobs. Support the global abolition of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. Strengthen our historic friendship and trade with Cuba and expand relations with other developing countries. Support a just peace in the Middle East based on an immediate and total withdrawal of Israel from all occupied territories and the formation of an independent Palestinian state. Cancel Third World debt. Justice for Aboriginal peoples and Quebec For a new, democratic constitution based on an equal and voluntary partnership of the Aboriginal peoples, Quebec, and English-speaking Canada; convene a Constituent Assembly. Abolish the Senate. Recognize the national rights of Quebec and Aboriginal peoples to self-determination. Remove vestiges of colonialism from all federal legislation; act now for just settlement of Aboriginal treaty claims. Take emergency action to improve living conditions, health and housing of Aboriginal peoples. Fight racism and discrimination Oppose all forms of racism and scapegoating by the Canadian state and the big corporations. Strengthen and enforce employment equity programs for Aboriginal peoples, people of colour, and people with disabilities. No one is illegal; reverse cuts to legal aid and stop deportations of immigrants and refugees. End the racist immigration quota system which discriminate against those from developing countries. End discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered persons; guarantee the marriage and adoption rights of all, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Promote the rights of people with disabilities for equal access to social, medical and educational facilities and services. Strengthen laws and enforcement against hate crimes and neo-fascist groups, and prosecute war criminals living in Canada. Full equality for women Close the wage gap - legislate full pay and employment equity for working women. Protect women's reproductive rights; provide publicly funded, accessible, quality abortion services in every province and territory. End violence against women. Guarantee adequate funding for crisis centres and transition houses. Protect women's right to EI maternity coverage; expand parental benefits to 52 weeks. Fund equality-seeking women's groups. A future for youth Increase federal support for education at all levels; rollback and eliminate tuition fees for post-secondary education. Shift from loans to grants for student assistance. Guarantee the rights of youth to training and apprenticeship programs. Build better schools and colleges, not more prisons and "boot camps." Lower the voting age to 16 years. (For a Charter of Youth Rights see http://ycl.communist-party.ca/charter.htm) A new financial deal for cities Give constitutional status and wealth taxing powers to municipalities now! Return 50% of gas and road user taxes to cities. Fund 25% of capital costs of municipal transit. Rebuild crumbling municipal and provincial infrastructure. Reverse downloading. Re-establish the Municipal Loan Fund for low-interest loans to cities. Support family farms - defend Canada's food sovereignty Ensure Canada's food sovereignty through subsidies that genuinely benefit family farms, lower rail freight rates, and curb the power of the agro-industrial monopolies. Establish price controls to reduce the cost of farm inputs; expand or re-establish single-desk selling for more crops and livestock through the Wheat Board and similar marketing agencies. Increase food safety inspections; establish price controls on all "factory" farms and ban in-ocean fish farming and deep-sea draggers. Support organic farming; regulate the use of antibiotics, fertilizers, pesticides. manure use and other potentially harmful agricultural practises. Save the environment Put nature before profits. Enforce stronger penalties on polluters. Make Canada a world leader in reduction of ozone-depleting gases and hydrocarbons. Phase out nuclear power, and reduce reliance on fossil fuel consumption - meet Kyoto targets as first step. Reduce environmental impact and loss of economic sovereignty caused by reliance on north-south hydro grids - expand shared power flows among provinces, moving toward and East-West power grid. Increase funding for alternative power research, expand energy conservation and use of alternative power sources. Promote and fund public transportation and mass transit. Ban destructive forestry practices, such as clear-cutting. Require labelling of all genetically-modified food products. Create jobs through protection and cleanup of the environment. Fair elections - proportional representation Enact a new electoral system that reflects voter wishes, combining the election of individual MPs with proportional representation, and the right to recall MPs. Guarantee equal treatment for all political parties, including access to media coverage under the Broadcast Act, so that voters can make informed choices. Scrap the permanent voters list in favour of comprehensive enumerations before every election. Rescind legislation (C-3) that allows for deregistration of parties on political grounds. Ban computerized voting systems. Remove restrictions on the right of unions to donate to political parties. Expand democratic rights Repeal C-36 and other so-called "anti-terror" legislation, and ban "racial profiling" used against Arabs, Muslims and other minorities. Defend the right to free speech and dissent. Stop government spying, police violence and the use of the courts as tools of repression against strikers and protesters. Strengthen parliamentary oversight of the armed forces and civilian control of the RCMP. A Bill of Rights for labour Enshrine in the constitution the right of workers to organize, strike and bargain collectively, and to take collective political action. Ban strike-breaking and scabbing. Strengthen labour standards; block anti-labour "right-to-work" laws. Place farm workers under federal jurisdiction with full labour standards and the right to organize and bargain collectively. Make May 1 a statutory federal holiday. (Back) (Home) Cameroon workers mark May Day (The following article is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) International Labour Day was celebrated on May 1 in Cameroon with "pomp and fanfare," reported the Cameroon Tribune newspaper on May 5, as "some 300 enterprises and corporations took three hours to march past at the Limbe Community field." The event was organized by four trade unions based in Fako Division. A representative of the Fako Divisional president of Workers Union (CCTU/CSTC) presented the plight of workers to government authorities and employers, condemning layoffs at the Cameroon Tea Estates. He noted that if the Cameroon Development Corporation had paid the workers of the tea sector before it was handed over to Cameroon Tea Estates, recent labour upheavals would have been prevented. He was also critical of the high cost of electricity, taxes, extortion and wanton embezzlement of state funds. Workers employed by various rural council bodies joined those of the Limbe urban council for the rally. People involved in diverse professions ranging from fish roasters, banana harvesters and bank workers, also participated. (Back) (Home) Korean Labor angers management Korea's Democratic Labor Party has begun to affect the government's plans to sell troubled companies that have received public bailout funds. After the party recently pressed the creditors of Daewoo Heavy   Industries and Machinery into allowing the company's union to bid to acquire it, lenders to companies in which public funds have been fed are expressing concern about a delay in the sales. "We will raise questions about the sale of Daewoo Heavy Industries and other companies such as Korea Investment & Securities," Song Tae-gyeong, the head of the Democratic Labor Party's policy bureau, said on May 5. "The government is carrying out the sale of those companies, with the goal of maximizing the collection of tax money. But such moves are causing concerns about employment to workers (who) have already sacrificed during those companies' restructuring procedures." According to Song, workers are isolated from the discussions for the sale of their companies, although the sales would cause major changes in relations between labor and management. The DPL recently became the first left-wing party to enter the National Assembly when it won 10 seats in elections. Companies whose trade unions oppose their sale or want to take them over are likely to face intervention by the Democratic Labor Party. (Back) (Home) Inspiring victory over fascism (The following article is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) Excerpted from the Guardian, weekly newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia The greatest military victory in all history passed unnoticed in Australia on May 8. There were no celebrations, no articles in major newspapers, no TV coverage to recall the event, no acknowledgement by Australia's political leaders. It is as though the political establishment wants to bury what happened just 59 years ago. The event was the defeat of German fascism and its drive for world domination in WWII. The Western world wants to forget and cover up what actually happened because it was the armed forces of the socialist Soviet Union that made by far the greatest contribution to this victory. Britain, France, the United States and other Western countries played a much smaller role. The largest armies ever assembled fought along the thousands of kilometres of the (eastern) front from the Caucasus mountains in the south to the Arctic Circle in the north. Millions of Soviet and German soldiers and millions of Soviet citizens lost their lives in the conflict. The Soviet victory was achieved by a country that was building a socialist society. At the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Robert Menzies, who was then Prime Minister of Australia, declared that the German armies would "go through Russia like a knife through butter." How wrong he was. The victory showed that socialism made a country politically, economically and militarily strong. There are many other consequences of the war that the Western capitalist leaders want to forget and cover up so that present generations know nothing of how the Nazi armies were defeated or that they were defeated at all. The example of the socialist Soviet Union inspired the working people around the world. Their victory and example led to a great upsurge in the national liberation struggles in all of the colonial countries. The whole colonial system began to crumble and a number of countries began to take the socialist path of development. This in turn opened the way to the victory of the Chinese revolution and the establishment of the Chines People's Republic in 1949. The Korean people also liberated their country only to have half of it overrun by United States troops in the early 1950s. The Vietnamese people threw out the French armies and then defeated the US (and Australian) invaders who also attempted to trample on the sovereignty and independence of their newly liberated country. The Indonesians threw out the Dutch colonialists, and the African people forced the Portuguese, French, Belgian and British colonialists to get out and go home. The leaders of the Western world never wanted the complete defeat of the Nazi armies. They hoped that both the Soviet Union and Germany would exhaust each other in the war and that the Western powers would then dictate the peace terms. For many years after the war ended, the Soviet Union was an impassable barrier to all the aggressive plans of the imperialist countries. But the Soviet Union is no more, at least for the time being. It was brought down by international conspiracies and internal treachery. The breakup of the Soviet Union gave the imperialist powers new hopes that they could re-impose their worldwide domination as it was in the days of colonialism and before the victory of the Russian revolution in 1917. But a new barrier to imperialism has arisen. It is the superpower of people's power. Imperialism cannot turn the clock back. Even as they try to ignore and bury the truth of the victory over fascism in WWII they cannot escape its world-shaking consequences. (Back) (Home) Cuba guarantees paid leave for parents (The following article is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) From PRENSA LATINA HAVANA - Cuban law now protects mothers and fathers who want to share child-rearing after the breast-feeding period, without having to worry about irate bosses. There is now a "postnatal license" in Cuba by which a mother - and a father - can either opt to return to work or remain at home at 60 percent of salary until the baby is one year old. More than overturning taboos and machismo barriers, this new law reflects the present socioeconomic reality in Cuba, where women are 44 percent of the work force in the state-civil sector and more than 66 percent of the technical and professional work force. The recent State Council Law No. 234 is the legal instrument of the Family Code marriage contract: "to attend, care for, protect, educate, help, give profound affection to, and prepare for life" the fruit of their love. This responsibility is a right and a duty, recognized equally for adoptive parents. Law No. 234 also covers up to a six-month absence from work, without reprisal, for either parent should one of their children under 16 years of age become ill. The revolutionary part of the law is that the father can take over the major caretaking role once the mother's presence is no longer indispensable. Should a mother die within the 12-week postnatal period, that full- pay right reverts to the working father, or to whichever working maternal or paternal relative he delegates to feed and care for the child during the first year of life. The extension of this to other relatives is recognition of the fundamental role of the family in society and facilitates better integration of its members in helping working parents. It is very rare today in Cuba to see families with several children. Many couples have only one child, or none, or delay childbearing until the future in order to dedicate themselves completely to the baby. This is especially true of women of childbearing age who begin working as soon as they finish their studies: athletes, teachers, doctors, scientists - all who feel they have a limited time to demonstrate their ability before becoming mothers. Cuban women arrived at the revolutionary victory in 1959 as 55 percent of the illiterates of the country and with poor (17 percent) incorporation in the work force, with much of their hardworking number in domestic service or as bar waitresses. These women could only hope to live 63.8 years. Sixty of each thousand of their children died before reaching one year of age. Since then, the advancements of Cuban women under socialism are unquestionable. Today, in addition to their higher participation in the labour force, women constitute 36 percent of the members of parliament, 62 percent of university graduates, and more than 33 percent of managers. Women in Cuba enjoy recognized sexual and reproductive rights, universal and free health care and education systems, special programs for maternity and child protection, programs to promote their quality of life, as well as cultural and social support. Their life expectancy is 76.8 years and infant mortality is six per thousand live births. (Back) (Home) Greed, greed and more greed Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political Corruption are Undermining America, by Arianna Huffington. NY: Three Rivers Press, 278 pages, $20 Canadian, ISBN 1 -4000-5126-6. (The following article is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) Reviewed by Steve Gilbert Are you ready to test your Corporate Corruption Quotient with this Fun Fact Quiz? Simply answer the following question: The tidal wave of corporate corruption reported in the press during the last two years is just the tip of the iceberg. True or False? The correct answer, according to economist Arianna Huffington, is false. "What's reported in the press is not the tip of the iceberg. It's only the tip of the tip of the iceberg." Huffington writes: "The litany of sins committed by the high priests of profit is a study in venality, deceit, theft, treachery, pride, and most of all, greed, greed, and more greed. In Pigs at the Trough, Huffington explores the whole iceberg: the rapacious behaviour of those who take home huge paychecks and stock options while corporations go under and workers go on welfare. She documents and dissects the unethical and criminal behavior made possible by an unholy alliance of toothless watchdogs, greedy CEOs, and corrupt politicians who bend rules and stretch loopholes to make cash flow from the pockets of taxpayers and stockholders into private offshore tax havens. Her indictment is scathing, and her writing style is wickedly witty, but her practical suggestions for reforming the system are unlikely to be implemented. It is not only muckraking journalists who are down on white collar crime. The sorry state of corporate ethics has been criticized by leading investment guru Warren Buffet, one of the richest men in America. Speaking to shareholder's meeting in May 2002, Buffet said that "Wall Street loves a crook, investment bankers have contempt for investors, stock-option-engorged CEOs are shameless, and American business is teeming with fraud". Huffington is not afraid to name names. In a chapter titled "Pigs on Parade" she describes in detail the sleazy machinations and legal entanglements of some of America's most infamous CEOs. John Rigas, owner of a $7billion dollar communications empire was charged with conspiracy and securities, wire and bank fraud. Tyco CEO Dennis Koslowski was charged with grand larceny for stealing more than $6million from Tyco's coffers. Inclone CEO Sam Waksal pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, conspiracy and perjury. Etcetera, etcetera. The innocent investor might wonder how it is possible for CEOs to routinely take home millions of dollars per year. A favourite scam is the manipulation of stock prices: CEOs, accountants and market analysts conspire to mislead regulators and investors about corporate earnings. Abundant evidence of such fraud was discovered early in 2002 by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who examined thousands of emails and other documents generated by Merrill Lynch's research department. He announced that many analysts were publicly recommending stocks which they privately derided as "pieces of crap," "powder kegs" and "pieces of junk run by sleazebags." The analysts were artificially driving up the price of stocks to make a killing before the bubble burst. But these analysts were not prosecuted. Instead, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt reprimanded Spitzer, and Representative Howard Baker told him: "It is essential that the SEC now lead the concluding phase of the inquiry." But the SEC, according to Huffington, is a toothless watchdog. The result of Spitzer's investigation was that Merrill Lynch got off with a fine, but did not admit guilt for lying to investors. Another favourite scam is tax evasion. Corporations avoid paying taxes by moving their headquarters to Bermuda, which levies no income tax. To do this they need only rent a PO box and hire someone to pick up the mail. Or they can move to Barbados, where a tax treaty allows them to ship profits abroad and transform them into tax writeoffs. As an added attraction, these corporations are immune to the judgements of US courts. More than a million US corporations and individuals have taken advantage of offshore tax shelter. Among these is Vice President Richard Cheney who, as Halliburton's CEO, increased the number of Halliburton subsidiaries registered in tax havens from nine to 44. In 1998 Halliburton paid a federal tax bill of $302 million. In 1999, thanks to Cheney, Halliburton received a $2.3 million refund! IRS estimates that this form of tax evasion is costing the US treasury at least $70 billion annually. Why don't corporate criminals go to jail? Most prosecutors do not want to take on corporate players because fraud cases are complex, challenging and time consuming. To get a conviction, the prosecutor must prove fraudulent intent, and this is difficult or impossible in most cases. Another major consideration: prosecutors like to win. If they take on corporate fraud cases, they will be up against the most skilful defense lawyers money can buy. As a result, few corporate criminals are prosecuted, and those who are convicted do not receive heavy sentences. In the last ten years, 87 white collar crooks have been convicted and imprisoned. The average sentence: 36 months. Compare this with the way drug offenders are prosecuted. In the year 2000 alone, 646,042 Americans were arrested for possession of marijuana. Non-violent first-time drug offenders received on average sentences of 64 months. Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling took home $62.6 million as the result of allegedly illegal insider trading in Enron stock. On Feb. 19, Skilling was indicted on 35 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud and insider trading. If convicted, he could be fined $80 million and sent to prison for life. But Skilling's lawyers are confident that he will be exonerated, and even Federal prosecutor James Comey told reporters it would be difficult to prove to a jury that Skilling was guilty of fraudulent intent. Huffington writes: "At its heart, the corporate scandal is a political scandal - corporate money corrupts politicians who, by passing or neglecting to pass laws, make corporate crime possible and profitable. The unfortunate reality is that truly substantive changes are clearly not going to come from our leaders in Washington. Our elected representatives are so compromised, such an integral part of the scandal, that if they set off a populist petard, they'd only by hoisted by it themselves." Huffington feels that change can only come from grassroots organizations such as Public Citizen, Common Cause, Global Exchange and Center for Public Integrity. She sees signs of hope in the fact that California State Treasurer Phil Angelides has blacklisted 23 companies because of their use of off-shore tax shelters. Huffington also lauds the crusading speeches of polluter turned environmentalist Ray Anderson, one of the good guys in the recent film The Corporation. Anderson now advocates corporate responsibility and sustainable development. But Anderson is the exception. "With corporate America under siege," writes Huffington, "there has never been a more opportune moment to adopt better business practices. But for this change to occur, pressure will have to come from three sources: the government, the media, and, above all, the public." Huffington ends on a positive note. But her optimism is not supported by the 250 pages of bad news which preceded it. The message between the lines seems to be: "Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." (Back) (Home) A pyrrhic victory for the US empire (The following article is from the May 16-31/2004 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) Excerpts from the May Day speech by President Fidel Castro, May 1, 2004 In current world conditions, there is a generalized fear of the fierce empire, of its threats, pressure and reprisals of all kinds, especially those against the most vulnerable countries of the Third World. It is almost suicidal to vote in Geneva against a resolution drafted and imposed by the United States, especially if it against Cuba, the country which for almost 50 years has defied its arrogance and imperiousness. Even the strongest and most independent states find themselves obliged to take into consideration the political and economic consequences of their decisions. Still, as could be seen just a few short days ago in Geneva, Cuba and 20 other countries - some acting out of principle and others showing amazing courage - opposed the resolution and 10 abstained, thus maintaining their dignity and self-respect. Only 22 of the 53 members of the Commission, including the United States, joined in this infamy. There were seven from Latin America, four of whom suffer from great economic and social poverty, are highly dependent, and have governments obliged to be totally abject. Nobody could consider them to be independent states. up to now they have been pure fiction. Peru, the fifth Latin American government which voted with the United States against Cuba, provides an example of the degree of servility and dependence into which imperialism and its neo-liberal globalization have led many countries in Latin America, whom they ruin politically in the twinkling of an eye. The Peruvian head of state has seen his popularity drop to only 8 per cent in just a few months. It is absolutely impossible to tackle the colossal economic and social problems affecting that country with such insignificant support. In fact, he does not govern, nor can he govern, anything; the transnationals and the oligarchies take care of that, until society explodes, as has already begun to happen in more than one country. Then we have the Chilean and Mexican governments. I am not going to judge the former. I prefer that the way the president of Chile behaved in Geneva be judged by (that of) Salvador Allende, who went down fighting and who now occupies a place of honour and glory in the history of this continent, by (that of) the millions of Chileans vanished, tortured and murdered by design of those who drafted and proposed this resolution to censure Cuba,   where not a single act of that sort, nor anything similar, ever took place - and by (the behaviour) of those who in their name are the standard bearers of the noble ideals and aspirations to create a truly humane society. In Mexico, a beloved, sister country to all Cubans, the National Congress asked their president to abstain from voting for the resolution, although President Bush had demanded that he do so. It is truly painful to see the great prestige and influence Mexico earned in the eyes of Latin America and the world with its unimpeachable international policy, which stemmed from a genuine, far-reaching revolution, turn to ashes. Latin America's solidarity with and support for Mexico and Mexico's for Latin America, are crucial. More than half of Mexico's territory was snatched from it by its northern neighbour and great danger threatens what is left. The US-Mexican border is to all practical purposes no longer the Rio Bravo of which Marti spoke. The United States has gone much deeper into Mexico. That border is today the line of death, where about 500 Mexicans die every year. And all because of a brutal, ruthless principle: free passage for capital and goods; persecution, exclusion and death for human beings. And yet, millions of Mexicans take that risk. Today, the country obtains more income from their remittances than from oil exports, in spite of the high price of the latter. Will such an inequitable and unfair situation really be solved by voting for anti-Cuban resolutions in Geneva, by accusing her of violating human rights? The worst and most humiliating part for Mexico was that the news about its vote in Geneva, both on April 15 and 22, were announced in Washington. The European Union, as usual, voted as a bloc, like a Mafia mob allied with and subordinate to Washington. These dirty, immoral displays against the Cuban Revolution never had any success until the socialist bloc disappeared. A plague of renegades, anxious for the credits and goods of consumer society added their votes to those of the European Community mafia. Thus they completed those petty deliveries in the Commission on Human Rights; resolutions pulled out with forceps, in the hard-fought battle which Cuba has never ceased to wage against the loathsome comedy which the empire, its allies, followers and vassals push through in order to gain an advantage of one or two votes over the opposition and abstentions of 60 per cent of the Commission's members. The empire calls these Pyrrhic victories successes and condemns Cuba, despite the fact that the political effort and cost are greater every year. When this year Cuba suggested sending a Commission representative to see what was going on in the Guantanamo naval base, panic spread through the herd of hypocrites, especially those from the European Community. Morale collapsed. Some European governments were truly ashamed; they had to confess their failure to act according to their principles, and (to) their hypocrisy, or do the impossible - disobey the empire. This was too much for such august defenders of human rights whose darts are only aimed at those who for centuries were their colonies, where they wiped out tens of millions of natives and to which they brought countless human beings from Africa whom they turned into slaves with less freedom than work horses. And this is how they treat millions of people in the Third World, victims of the plunder, unequal terms of trade and looting of their natural resources and all the hard currency reserves in their central banks, which are deposited in US or European banks for the most part, and which are used to finance investments, trade and fiscal deficits and for the military adventures of the empire and its allies.... We Cubans will continue to observe what happens and will continue to wage our most resolute battle against those who give themselves the luxury of advocating political changes based on the physical removal of some of us. The worst thing is that those who talk of speeding up the aforementioned changes are characters whose same old murderous ideas are quite familiar to us. Now they are once again making themselves hoarse shouting threats of upcoming measures to affect our economy and destabilize the country. They would do well to return to us our five prisoners of the empire, who with unequalled dignity are withstanding the most shameful and cruel case of human rights violations. Their fate in federal government prisons, where they are kept completely separate, is hardly any better than that of those held captive in the Guantanamo naval base. But despite all that, we do not hesitate in suggesting to those who govern the United States that they be calmer, more sensible, saner and wiser. To those who persist in their efforts to destroy the Revolution, I simply say in the name of the crowd gathered here on this May 1st, as I said at Giron and at other decisive moments in our battles: Long live socialism! Homeland or Death! We shall overcome! (Back) (Home)

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