BELGIUM / AROUND THE WORLD measures) has been largely ignored by the authorities, despite the fact that it meets the needs of Belgian big business, which has economic reasons for opposing the expulsion of immigrants.
Another failure is that of the social democrats. Nothing has changed despite the fact that they are in the majority in Brussels and have recently re-entered the national government.
Only a few months ago, a book entitled "On people and dreams", ', by the president of the Flemish social democrats, came out. Now the young immigrants, who
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have little to dream about, have woken him up. Finally there is also a failure at the level of public life. There is a political failure: the demand for the right to vote for immigrants in local elections has not been taken up by the ruling parties, who, indeed, explicitly ruled it out of their 1982 election programme. And a failure also on the level of daily life: the planned total budget for the Brussels region is only 350m Belgian francs. On the other hand 8 billion such francs are to be spent on refurbishing the European Community buildings. * the French army. In fact he returned less than a year ago from a further training programme in France. Nobody should be taken in by his current populist-democratic rhetoric.
The Transitional Committee for the Salvation of the People (CTSP) includes civilians, among them figures who were very prominent in the mass movement, to give the impression of a fully-realized "national union". With the intention of getting into the good books of the school pupils and students, the new government has raised their grants, although not by the 200% demanded, and ordered the reopening of the boarding schools closed on IMF and World Bank orders in 1982. However nothing has yet been done to meet the demands of the low paid, nor to raise the minimum guaranteed income.
The prime minister, 41-year old Soumanou Sako, called back from Bangui where he was working for the United Nations Development Programme, has been seen before. "Honest to his fingertips", when minister of finance under Moussa Traoré in 1987 he held a Belgian plane at Bamako airport because Traoré's wife had put gold on it to take to Belgium. This action sent
MALI Dictator falls Write to a political prisoner! "I WILL NOT resign. I have been elected by the people and not by the opposition. MAHMOUD Ahmad Massarwa is an Arab Palestinian and a citizen of the The army is loyal." Thus did one of fran- state of Israel. His home is in the village of Baka al-Gharbiyya, near Hadera. He cophone Africa's last dictator/generals is the husband of Wafa and the father of Zaatour (age 7) and Majdalene (age express his fatal misunderstanding of con- 4). He is a political prisoner. temporary trends. Before his arrest in July 1988 on trumped-up espionage charges, he worked
In fact, a year-long popular movement in Tel Aviv. He held a job as a carpenter by day, and as a factory guard at night. culminated in the fall, on March 25, 1991, His employers were satisfied with him. He had good relations with his coof Mali's president Moussa Traoré, who workers, Jews as well as Arabs. had ruled the country since 1968.
one of the Mahmoud did not engage in violent actions, nor does he advocate violence. countries", Mali came into He is a prisoner of conscience. being with the break up of the Federation Mahmoud is opposed to raacism. He wants freedom for the Palestinian peoof Mali in 1958. The per capita GNP is ple. He is convinced that fredom from national oppression is a fundamental $230, and with debts of some 900bn cfa right. Mahmoud believes in the possibility of peaceful co-existence between francs (1cfa is worth 0.02 French francs), Arabs and Jews. He advocates unified struggle of Arabs and Jews, and particithe country's economy is on pates regularly in joint organizations and joint activities. He looks forward to a legs. The minimum wage is 15,000 cfa democratic, secular Palestine, in which Jews and Arabs can live in peace and
In backward countries with an unarticu- Mahmoud is a socialist. His goal is for workers to re-organize society in the lated social structure and a monolithic interests of the majority. His efforts are directed to the political organization and political regime, the workers movement is political education of workers. feeble. In most cases, social protest movements can be strong but with a marked Mahmoud Massarwa was arrested on the day before he was due to leave for lumpen elements. England to attend a conference of European socialists. He was held incommuIgnored for most of the time, the discon- nicado for 15 days, during which time his lawyer was denied access to him. tent explodes violently in periods of crisis, While in police custody, Mahmoud was systematically denied sleep, he was with hunger being the primary motive beaten in the course of interrogation, and his life was threatened This is the explanation for the "looting" All charges against him stem from his public political activity; his commitment deplored by the leaders and the media. to the cause of Palestinian freedom, and his loyalty to the international workers
In the present movement, however, the movement. Following a trial, he was convicted by an Israeli court and senunorganized rioters were joined by the tenced to ten years imprisonment. trade unions traditionally tied to the single The state of Israel makes great efforts to present itself as 'the only democraparty, such as the National Union of Mali- cy in the Middle East". In the state of Israel, Mahmoud Massarwa is denied an Workers (UNTM) and students and school students organizations.
Moussa Traoré's nemesis, 43-year old Lieutenant Colonel Amadou Toumani
24 beret paratroopers, is a pure product of Touré, the commander of a unit of "red
International Viewpoint #208 • June 10, 1991
us, and in the other areas to vote to defeat the government. These elections have provided us with an opportunity to strengthen our organization throughout the country. We face the challenge of building up a revolutionary popular movement and defeating popular front tendencies.
shock waves through the circles of the parasitic bureaucracy, and Sako lost his job. His first act in his new one has been to carry out a purge of the administration. Thus almost all the ministerial permanent secretaries, and many heads of national services, as well as regional governors, have been pensioned off.
All the presidents of the administrative councils and the directors of nationalized industries have also been fired. While they were certainly corrupt, it is not clear whether this is more than simply a cost ALGERIA PST Congress SOME 700 people attended the first legal congress of the Algerian Socialist Workers Party (PST), an organization in sympathy with the Fourth International.
Three quarters of the delegates were under 30, 54% were wage-earners, 30% students or school students, 3% unemployed and 1 % farmers. Some 70 women were present. The national press, radio and television attended and gave extencutting measure. Meanwhile, in order to attempt to burnish the image of the army, which was not enhanced by the bloodshed this March, all the army generals have also
Over the past two years, National Conferences have become the miracle cure for the ruined continent. To some extent these are the results of popular mobilizations and forums where the balance sheet of discarded regimes can be drawn, and they should not be rejected, although it would be a mistake to imagine that they can solve mentalists of the FIS. Trade unionists and some members of the PAGS (Communist Party) have supported this idea, despite the opposition of their organization, which is putting forward its own slate.
What line to take in the second round, however, aroused debate. Outside the Kabylia, there will probably be a straight choice between the FLN and the FIS. Many delegates wanted abstention: "why choose between the devil and the deep blue sea? Fear is not a useful political
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On the one hand they allow imperialism to create favourable conditions for exploitation with the provisional support of the population. By allowing a reshuffle of the political cards, and the entry into government of "new" people, they offer security to their sponsors. On the other hand, by recognizing democratic rights and multipartyism they create the conditions in which independent mass organizations and popular revolutionary emerge. — Amadou Guiro * response to the rise of the FIS..."
But many delegates, and a majority of the women, opposed this line: "Yes, I am afraid, and I admit it" said one."A victory for the FIS would threaten our existence and that of the organization itself."
Finally the delegates decided to hold a national conference between the two rounds to decide on how to proceed. A leadership of 29 people, including six women, was elected and new statutes
Sri Lanka - Trotskyist local election sive reports of the congress.
This was the Algerian Trotskyist organ- campaign ization's tenth congress, but the first held legally. The original nucleus, the Groupe LOCAL government elections were held in Sri Lanka on May 11, 1991, for communiste révolutionnaire, was found- the first time since 1982. The Northern and Eastern provinces, where there is a war going on, were excluded from the elections. ed in clandestinity in 1974 by a group of
Of the 236 municipal, urban and regional councils that saw elections, the
Despite its small size it took an active ruling UNP party won in 198, while the "alternative" bourgeois party, the part in all the democratic battles, many of SLFP, captured 38. Another petty bourgeois coalition won 68 seats. its militants heading struggles by stu- The Trotskyist Nava Samasamaja Party (NSSP) contested 44 councils and women' and the Berber cultural won 22 seats, with some 5.2% of the votes cast in the areas contested. movement. Several of the group's leaders According to the NSSP's Niel Wijetilake: suffered arrest and torture at the hands of ALL the measures adopted by the government at the dictate of the World Bank the FLN dictatorship. The last clandestine and the IMF have gone into serious crisis. The government has had to retreat congress in 1989 adopted the name PST. from its proposal to privatize the banking sector following strong protests from the
With the "democratic opening" that bank workers. In similar circumstances, the scheme to reorganize the plantation started in October 1988, the PST devel- has also been abandoned. The garment industry has been the worst hit by IMF oped rapidly, including in some branches dictated policies. This industry, hitherto financed by the central bank, has proved of industry, such as rail and chemicals. It to be a failure. As a result of constant industrial disputes most industrialists have now has several hundred activists and dropped their projects. some 3000 supporters holding a party The banks have thus been compelled to take over some industries. This has card. More than half of its organization is emerged as one of the most profound contradictions of the Premadasa regime's to be found in the Kabylia [the Berber strict adherence to IMF dictates. The Premadasa regime decided to strengthen its area], and in particular in the city of hand by holding elections and proving its democratic credentials. Bejaia, where the PST has several hun- The election has posed problems for the left parties in the SFLP-led coalition, dred organized supporters and led the last with the SFLP limiting their independent presence on coalition slates; the rank- and-file of the Communist Party and the LSSP (ex-Trotskyists) are deeply frusgeneral strike.
The first part of the congress heard speeches from guests, among them almost Without building up an independent mass movement the left cannot exert presall the country's women's organizations, sure on the SFLP and simply becomes a tool in that party's hands. the SNEAD student union, the FFS, the The NSSP refused to accept the SFLP's proposals for a no contest agreement.
The party was able to attract many disillusioned with the old left. Significantly the former revolutionary leader Zahouane, the PLO, the Polisario Front, the PRT candidates fielded by the NSSP in the rural areas are mostly erstwhile sympathiz(Mexico), Democrazia Proletaria (Italy), ers of the Sinhala-chauvinist terrorist organization, the JVP, or are from families the OCR (Tunisia), the OST (Senegal) which have fallen victim to the government repression. Of the party's 1050 candiand the Illal Aman (Morocco). dates, 79 were Tamils and 76 were women.
The NSSP campaign was essentially directed against the government. Our
The second part dealt with preparations campaign was mainly based on the right of self-determination of the Tamil speakfor the legislative elections of June 27.
Wing people and the need to put forward a solution to the national question on this There was unanimous support for basis. We appealed to the people to vote for our candidates in areas contested by approaching other anti-capitalist and anti- imperialist forces for a joint list for the first round, the Popular Workers' Front
(FOP), with the aim of presenting an alternative to the ruling FLN and the funda-
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25 June 10, 1991 • #208 International Viewpoint