1. Militarily and in an immediate sense also politically the success of the government cannot be denied. But it is to be noted that it became possible because of a negotiated withdrawal and not a full-fledged capitulation. This shows how difficult it is for the government to advance militarily and that this does not mean a pacification of the situation. 2. The democratic left insisted that the better solution would have been a ceasefire and pacification leaving the militants in place this opening up spaces for dissent. In this way they would have been turned into a civil political opposition as they had started out three years back. Unfortunately first of all the government continues to be unwilling for such a step and secondly also the rebels seem not ready for that, neither the … [read more]

His remand has been extended by the magistrate for another 14 days. Initially he was not allowed to meet people and was not given any assistance which for a person with nearly 90 percent disability was worse than physical torture. He suffers from hypertension and other ailments. His medicines were not given to him. Now he is in better situation. According to his lawyer, the jail authorities have assigned two persons to assist him. His medicines are being regularly administered to him and his lawyer has access to him in the … [read more]

We call upon everybody to send protest messages to Indian diplomatic missions. Condemn the dastardly clandestine abduction of Dr. GN Saibaba, Joint-Secretary of RDF, by the Maharashtra Police! Today, the 9th of May, plain-clothed personnel of the Maharashtra Police abducted Dr. GN Saibaba while he was returning home from Daulat Ram College in Delhi University after examination duty. Dr. Saibaba, who suffers from 90% disability and is on a wheelchair, was blindfolded and pushed into a vehicle. After this secretive arrest of Dr Saibaba from within the university premises, it is believed he is being taken to Gadchiroli in Maharashtra by flight. None of his family members were informed and after repeated efforts to contact him, the driver of his vehicle informed the family of his … [read more]

Western politicians know perfectly well that there is no Russian invasion, and this, precisely, is the main international problem for them. To admit as much means admitting that the government in Kiev has gone to war on its own people. To speak of the Donetsk Peoples Republic as an independent political phenomenon is impossible, since this would require posing the question of the reasons for the popular protest, and listing its demands. The talk of Kremlin agents and of the ubiquitous Russian troops—who are impossible to discover, but who have occupied close to half of Ukraine without firing a shot or even showing themselves on Ukrainian territory—is playing the same propaganda role against the Donetsk republic as was played in the anti-Bolshevik propaganda of 1917 by stories of … [read more]

A Call for Solidarity May 8 is celebrated all over the world as a day of victory over Nazism that caused millions of losses and much suffering to many people of the world. However, now we see that neo-Nazism raises its head again. Far-right groups and parties are striving to power in many countries. Their members unleash real terror against the dissenters, migrants, the ‘others’, leftwing and anti-fascist activists. We have to stop the rise fascism again – that’s our duty to stop it till it is not too late. On May 2, 2014 in Ukrainian city Odessa neo-Nazis and far-right groups unleashed a real massacre. Far-right paramilitaries burned alive and beaten to death 46 local residents in the ‘House of Trade-Unions’. They brutally finished off the wounded, shouting ‘Glory … [read more]

1. Starting point The abandonment of the association treaty with the EU last autumn sparked the street protests. This alone bears witness of the social illusions into the EU and western capitalism in general on one hand and the political power of anti-Russian sentiments on the other hand. Both from an economic as well as from a political point of view, the treaty, which implied severing the close relations to Russia, would not have served the interests of the popular masses. In return the EU only has to offer austerity along the lines of the IMF adjustment programmes in southern Europe, further pushing Ukraine into poverty and periphery. The intensity of the protests can, however, only be explained by taking into consideration the social aspects. The pro-Russian elites commanded a … [read more]

Elections Black Turkey boldly remains behind Erdoǧan regardless of corruption allegations. The decisive factor for the renewed electoral support is the social and economic ascendancy which also arrived at the Anatolian middle and lower classes – which actually is not a minor occurrence. To acknowledge this it suffices to compare it with the poor performance of all the neighbours. Furthermore there is the historic achievement of peacefully having pushed back the army allowing for a democratic opening which symbolically includes the important right to wear the hijab in public environments. Corruption, on the other hand, was widespread also before the AKP era. The new rulers just do the same as the old ones – for many even with more legitimacy. Actually, capitalism means systemic … [read more]

Exchange among the people – not power-brokering First of all, let us recall the aim of the “All Sides Consultation for a Political Solution” which took place in the “Peace Castle Schlaining” close to Vienna, Austria, from 7-10 March, 2014. The idea was to give a voice to Syrian society in its full diversity, voices emerging from the people who have been silenced and excluded by the powerful. It was not intended to hold negotiations between the conflicting sides and their global and regional sponsors as has failed in Geneva. A consultative forum of personalities not directly representing the sides involved but indeed representing the societal richness was called upon to explore ways to stop the catastrophic bloodshed. Thus we were not in search of sophisticated and … [read more]

Driven by deep worries about the deteriorating developments, the disastrous humanitarian situation and the future of the Syrian people, the All Sides Consultation has been searching for what can be done, by means of a political solution, to stop the war, the violation of human rights causing a huge number of victims, the destruction of infrastructure and culture. This solution should help the Syrians to find a new social contract for the construction of a State based on comprehensive national reconciliation and accountability, guaranteeing the rights and freedom for all Syrians. Recognizing the immense complexity of the situation and the increasing suffering and polarization, following points emerged as consensual during our deliberations. As conveners we are formulating them in the … [read more]

De-railing of Geneva II from the Basic Tracks I received several letters from friends of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change – NCB expressing surprise about the NCB’s boycott of the Geneva II Conference in the context of the arrangements, the formula and the conditions in which it is being held. We were particularly the brave defenders of this conference, and we were accused of all manner of sins after our defense of it even from some people who mounted the platform of the delegation of the Coalition on behalf of the Syrian opposition in Montreux. I wrote in my first notes about “Geneva I”/Geneva Communiqué on 10th July 2012: The Conference has been organised without the Syrians like a meeting of the Security Council, but this negative point has certainly … [read more]

Among its main victims there are the democratic rights of the Syrian people, who originally tried to claim these rights by launching a peaceful popular mass protest movement. However their efforts have gradually been thwarted by an increasing influence of sectarian tendencies as well as a growing regional and global involvement. Together with many people inside Syria and across the world our initiative for Peace in Syria continues to insist (see initial call www.peaceinsyria.org/mission.html) that the only viable solution is a political settlement with a ceasefire paving the way to a transitional government, based on a power sharing agreement between the socio-political, confessional and ethnical blocs maintaining a common State. We are conscious that this is not the ideal solution for … [read more]

In the poorest countries of the world, where hundreds of thousands of people die of hunger and diseases, many have celebrated the massacre of New York. Among those peoples who in the last decades have been suffering from all kinds of humiliations, aggressions, massacres and injustice, many have cheered in occasion of the twin tower collapse. They see the evil where the rich see the good. Only priests with fully stuffed stomachs could condemn these extreme sentiments of the damned of earth. In fact, the poor and miserable consider the USA and their allies as those responsible for their inhuman conditions of life, for the hopeless barbarism they have to suffer from. Are they wrong? The hypocrite governors of the US and the NATO states are threatening, cursing and crying that peace … [read more]

Responding to the contribution of Anton Holberg: While it is obvious that Sunni Islamism is exclusivist, the regime’s secularist narrative constitutes a hidden, more covered de facto communalism. It is true that it does not refer to religion in the same way as Islamism does. It is fair enough to notice this difference but politically it does not matter much. We know that even the French role model behind the formal façade of egalitarism is de facto very exclusivist and elitist. In Syria everybody starts from the assumption that loyalty to the leading group is not based on ideology or whatever criteria but on communalist group solidarity provoking counter-reactions by the excluded, exploited and oppressed. Unfortunately under the given conditions the popular rebellion was susceptible … [read more]

Syria definitely is the focus of conflictivity within the world system. International, regional, political and social fault lines are crossing there producing a tremendous eruption which turned a democratic popular revolt into a sectarian civil war with massive foreign involvement. And the stakes are indeed high, very high. Though the origin and base of the events have been the democratic and social rights of the popular masses, it became also about the redesign of the regional and global order. Let us try to discern the recent tendencies emerging in this conflict against the background of the preparations for the Geneva talks scheduled for January 2014. 1. Why talks – military solution not sustainable for Washington The most obvious fact is that the main global power, the … [read more]

The demonstrations have started out on December 9 called for by autonomous organizations of the toiling masses (peasants, lorry drivers, small entrepreneurs, etc.) but included all sectors of the people hit by the crisis and especially by the sacrifices imposed by the European Union (EU). Main instrument of struggle are road blocks: In some cases the highway toll stations were occupied completely blocking the traffic. In most cases traffic was slowed down involving private and first of all professional drivers. The mobilization is working: Activists distribute leaflets, drivers stop and sound their horns – now for some two weeks in 135 Italian cities. In some towns protests were even stronger. In Turin commercial activities were paralyzed for three days. In Genoa and smaller towns … [read more]

Should this succeed - which is by no means certain - Tunisia might serve as a role model. This would strengthen the already-won democratic rights and the path to independent articulation and organization of the subaltern masses against the social elites would be paved. Let’s try to read the trends in Tunisian society and to draw wider conclusions reaching beyond the small country. 1. Islamists losing influence Following the overthrow of Ben Ali, the Islamist Ennahda party, a force including several tendencies, emerged as the central power of the new government enjoying a strong relative electoral majority. Although it is true that the popular movement against Ben Ali was influenced by the Left while the Islamists had played only a secondary role, the leading governmental … [read more]

The conflict’s background The base of the antagonism between the West and Iran remains the revolution of 1979 which had a strong anti-imperialist momentum and remains until now one of the most important popular revolutions of the regions or even the world. The Islamic Republic is, however, not a direct, linear, immediate expression of the popular and anti-imperialist tendencies but rather its mediation broken by clerical rule. We just have to remember the Iraq-Iran war. With its approach of dual containment Washington carefully balanced its proxy support to both sides. The war served the Mullahs as a formidable tool to bend the power of the popular movement having emerged during the revolution. Take as further evidence the unequal couple of Rafsanjani and Khatami during the … [read more]

For decades Austria has been ruled by what is called “Big Coalition” between the Social Democrats (SPOe) and the Christian Democrat People’s Party (OeVP) with only few exceptions. Both regime components attempted to claim Merkel’s sweeping electoral victory for themselves. In a certain sense both were right – and nonetheless failed to achieve the same victory. The SPOe, for two generations the strongest party, is the anchor of (alleged) stability. Regarding culture, social composition as well as social policy they represent the centre. Though this implies to execute the neo-liberal dictates of the European oligarchy (save the bank capital, impose austerity), they try to do this in a way they call equilibrated. If one compares it to other European countries they are even … [read more]

He had anticipated the electoral clash in order to vote with the current voting system still in place. The reason is simple: ungovernability had persisted and the “Berluscones”, given that the M5S (Five Star Movement) is not ready to make any accord with the ruling pro-euro clique, still held the key in hands for the formation of a new government. As a matter of fact president Napolitano, in name of the dominant European and Italian classes, has done and will do everything in order to avoid elections on the basis of the current electoral law. For the time being they won the game – but for how long is another question. Their bloc is economically dominant, but no more politically, because it doesn’t enjoy the necessary social consent to govern undisturbed. Following the … [read more]

Appalling victory From a social revolutionary point of view, Merkel’s sweeping electoral success is abominable. It follows, however, a political-cultural pattern of the German middle classes whose culture dominates the broad masses and therefore also the electorate. It was all about to continue the alleged German Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) contrasting with the catastrophe the south is suffering of. The middle classes seek stability and want to avoid taking risk for the weaker eurozone states. But ultimately they do accept measures to prevent the euro crisis from erupting again. Further haircuts for Greece will be unpopular but they trust Merkel to do what is necessary and nothing more. On the surface the petty bourgeois has reason to believe what Merkel has been claiming: … [read more]