La very incomplete review of the radical press Indonesia Alert! The special Spring 1998 issue focuses on the possibilities of replacing Suharto with a new "pro-democratic" coalition government. Contents include a speech by Megawati Sukarnoputri, an interview with a leader of the KNPD, and a document from PIJAR (all references to individuals and acronyms are explained below). According to Megawati Sukarnoputri, the main leader of the bourgeois opposition, the crisis in the country is caused by "unbridled greed by those with political and economic power in our country." The fall of the rupiah is due to the people's "loss of confidence in the present leadership and government administration." For Sukaroputri the danger in Suharto's corruption is the country's inability to establish "normal" relations with imperialist capital. "I do not expose these practices" of Suharto and family, she says, "because I am against necessary foreign loans and debt. I believe, as a developing nation, foreign loans and debt are necessary and rational." In another article, a leader of the National Committee for Democratic Struggle describes the need for a "Council for the Salvation of the People's Sovereignty." comprising "all prodemocratic political leaders and well-known figures," who would "take over for the government in order to handle the economic crisis." Seventy-seven individuals and organisations have been encouraged to join,. encompassing "all religious figures, political parties, social organisations, student organisations, intellectuals, artists, professionals, and local leaders." When asked how differences between radicals and moderates on such a body would be handled, the KNPD leader says that they would "firmly hold on to" their platforms, but that they "may not pressure each other; all will be limited by the platform which we will determine jointly." The editors also reproduce a document from PIJAR, the Network for Information and change, calling for price reductions, a Cabinet overhaul, and a new president. These demands, say the documents' authors, are taken from "the set of demands launched on the streets of Jakarta in 1966,backing Suharto's seizure of power"!
Trotsky Encyclopedia
The updated version of the FAQ for the Encyclopedia of Trotskyism Online (ETOL) is available at:
www.trotskyism.org/faq.htm
The Italian version is at:
http://www.trotskyism.org/faqi.htm Desde lo cu4tro puntos
Our Spanish-language magazine is now available on the internet. Like our own site, this service is provided thanks to comrades from Sweden's Socialist Party (FI).
Among the first articles available on the site are Michael Löwy's article about Che Guevara, and Joao Macado's article on globalisation.
http://home6.swipnet.se/~w64823/int/pagina1.htm Labour Left Briefing, April 98 Gordon Brown's wasted budget opportunities • Who speaks for the countryside? • Disability benefits still at risk • Pensioners of the future beware! • National Union of Students - action needed on fees • Opposing health cuts • Derail the sell-off of London Underground • Council budgets still under attack • The Campaign for a People's London [against imposition of a London mayor] • Victory for London left in TGWU? • EMU: what the Government doesn't want you to know • Blair and Mowlam on the fence - The sooner the British Government recognises its own role in the conflict, the sooner we'll get a meaningful settlement, argues Brian Campbell, editor of Sinn Fein's An Phoblacht/Republican News • Sean Coyne reports from Freetown, Sierra Leone, recently liberated from nine months of brutal military rule, thanks not least to the heroic efforts of the Sierra Leone Labour Congress • Achin Vanaik calls for the Indian left to chart a new course. All articles can be viewed at <www.llb.labournet.org.uk> Contact: PO Box 2378, London, E5 9QU, Britain, Tel: +44 181 985 6597, Fax: 985 6785 <llb@labournet.org.uk> Critique communiste #151 In French. The Spring 1998 issue of France's leading marxist theoretical journal has two dossiers. In the first, a range of European and Mexican authors discuss the impact of Che Guevara 30 years after his death, with particular reference to the current armed struggle in Chiapas, Mexico. In the second part of the magazine, Critique communiste theorises the Internet as only French marxists know how Single issues 70FF (US$12), subscription 300FF. Write to 2 Rue Richard-Lenoir, 93100 Montreuil, France. Tel. +33 1 48704220