05) SOLIDARITY WITH TUNISIANS, NOT DICTATORS - Editorial

People's Voice Editorial

The news that relatives of Tunisia's ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali have arrived in Canada is an appalling sign of the true policies of the Harper Tories. On Jan. 21, one of Ben Ali's brothers‑in‑law flew into Montreal on a private jet, with his family and a governess. Others may follow. Two years ago, the dictator's daughter, Nesrine Ben Ali and her husband purchased a $2.5 million villa in Montreal's Westmount neighbourhood. Ben Ali's relatives are fleeing Tunisia, after 33 family members were arrested for their plunder of the country's wealth.

     Contrast Canada's welcome mat for these wealthy crooks with the response to Roma people fleeing racism and persecution, Mexicans and other Latinos escaping the violence and poverty of their homelands, or Tamils who arrived here in the wake of Sri Lanka's devastating civil war. The Harper Tories have used these refugees as scapegoats to whip up racism and chauvinism, in an attempt to sow divisions at a time when working class unity is vital to resist corporate attacks.

     Acting in solidarity with the rich and powerful everywhere, the Harper government has shamefully refused to welcome the overthrow of Ben Ali, or to join other countries in freezing the assets of the dictator's clique.

     But working people across Canada and around the world do celebrate this historic popular victory. The revolution in Tunisia is a powerful blow against the corrupt, authoritarian, capitalist regimes which use violence and phony "elections" to maintain their domination over working people. The upsurge of protests in Algeria, Egypt and other countries is also welcome. These actions expand the struggles by the workers of Europe against the global imperialist agenda. We send our warmest solidarity to the people of Tunisia, and to their sisters and brothers everywhere taking to the streets to demand jobs, democracy, civil rights, equality and peace!

(The above article is from the Feb. 1-14, 2011, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)