5112개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
On Monday(5.10) an interesting CNN report described the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ, a.k.a. MDL) as a peerless eco-paradise on the peninsula: Hundreds of species of rare birds migrate here. The DMZ is also home to wild boar and Korean water deer... Some soldiers and farmers have even reported seeing black bears and leopards... Described as “an accidental paradise”.... the DMZ is certainly one of the few places in both Koreas that tigers might yet dwell...
On the same day, according to Chosun Ilbo, the S. Korean Ministry of "Defense" announced, "If N. Korean involvement in the Cheonan incident is confirmed, as a military measure we are examining the resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts across the MDL."
Well, this f*cking (complete infantile!!) idea is the same as the S.K. gov't would announce tomorrow to declassify Sorak-san for a combat aircraft training area...
And let's call it what it is: ECO-TERRORISM!!!
Related articles:
☞ Psychological Warfare on the List... (DailyNK, 5.10)
☞ MoD considers resuming psychological warfare... (Hankyoreh, 5.11)
☞ U.S. thinks North sunk Cheonan.. (JoongAng Ilbo, 5.12)
An increasing number of S. Korean citizens are protesting/resisting against one of the most dumbest(!) projects of the MB administration - the so-called "Four Major Rivers Restoration Project".
Just yesterday thousands of people demonstrated in downtown Seoul(*) against the economical useless and eco-disastrous(**) project:
Last Thursday's (bourgeois) Korea Herald published the following interesting coverage about some environmental aspects of the project:
River project poses threat to ecological system
Hoeryongpo, about three-hour drive south of Seoul, is a small village where a dragon-like lake twists and turns around the houses and trees.
The river’s century-old sedimentation activities of have created a sandy plain surrounding the town, which has become a habitat for migratory birds and plants.
“This unique landscape may not be found in Korea any more,” said Lee Won-young, professor of urban planning at the University of Suwon, while looking at the village from the observatory last week.
As part of the government’s Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, construction is underway for dredging and damming the Nakdong River, which runs through the eastern part of the country.
When one of the planned dams is completed in the upper stream of Naesungcheon, a tributary of the Nakdong River, the professor said, less sand will flow into the waters surrounding the village and will change the ecology of the area.
“The sand in the Korean Peninsula, mostly from granite, filters water through the space between grains. In particular, the sandy plains, frequently spotted along the Nakdong River, provide a perfect habitat for wildlife,” Lee said.
“However, I heard a government official described the sandy plains as thick layer of fat that should be removed while promoting the river project.”
Costliest project
Amid fierce resistance from environmentalists and opposition parties, the government launched the river project in November, aimed at improving water quality and preventing natural disasters along the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan rivers.
The government also estimates the project will create 340,000 jobs and 38 trillion won ($34 billion) in long-term economic benefits.
With a combined 22.2 trillion won ($20 billion) injected from public funds, the river project is expected to become the costliest engineering work in the nation’s history.
It is also a core project of the “Green New Deal” policy pushed by the Lee Myung-bak administration. The government plans to complete the construction work by 2012 before Lee’s five-year term ends in 2013.
According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the construction work on a total of 16 dams were on average 12.2 percent complete as of Monday.
The ministry said 60 percent of the main projects including building dams will be completed within the year.
With social and political controversies over the project deepening, the National Election Commission ordered a halt to the ministry’s promotion of the project, warning that the issue could affect the local elections next month.
Environmental study
On a construction site in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, reporters were introduced to a habitat of a rare type of chrysanthemum, which was found late last month during construction work.
Even though the endangered species, called “Aster altaicus var. uchiyamae,” is believed to grow only along the South Han River, the Yeoju area was omitted from the feasibility study conducted by the Ministry of Environment.
Despite a local environmental office’s order to halt the project in the area, the construction work was still underway on Sunday.
While the main community of the species was surrounded by a boundary line, some of them were moved to another place for transplant.
Their originally green leaves had turned brown. An official from the Korean Water Resources Corporation said “they were adapting to the new environment.”
“Almost half of rare species extinctions are caused as their habitat is changed. For the accurate study on them, they should be monitored every year over the long term,” said Jeung Min-gull, an ecological geneticist at Kongju National University in Gongju.
“The nation lacks specialists in the field and related infrastructure. That’s why we need enough time to conduct such a large-scale environmental study,” he said.
For the river project, the government omitted the preliminary investigation and completed the feasibility study within about four months.
Academics join fight
Jeung, the professor, participated in the environmental review panel on the river project. However, he quit the job after having found that the study was aimed at offering advice, not pointing out problems to change. Then, he joined a group of professors who fight against the river project.
The Professors’ Organization for Movement Against Grand Korean Canal was formed two years ago in protest against one of President Lee’s campaign pledges to develop a pan Korean waterway by connecting the Han and Nakdong rivers.
Even though the president withdrew his canal plan after taking office in February 2008, the group with a membership of some 2,500 professors has led the campaign against the river project, assessing the environmental and economic impacts of the plans and offering information to the public.
“We have recognized our negligence painfully. If we had spoken of the environmental importance of our rivers from 20 years ago, people would never have accepted this flawed project today,” said Lee of Suwon University.
Jeung showed some old photos of the Han River in Seoul in which a sandy river bank was crowded with citizens.
“Other countries such as Switzerland and Germany are breaking concrete dams and other artificial facilities to restore the natural beauty of the riverside. But the nation’s river project is bucking the global trend, isolating people from the rivers,” he said.
http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100506000632
* Related reports:
☞ 10,000 protest four rivers project (JoongAng Ilbo, 5.11)
☞ Four Rivers protests... (Hankyoreh, 5.11)
** Ultimately (just in my opinion!) it's just a state-approved/controlled resource of profit maximization for the S. Korean 'Jaebol', resp. their beleaguered construction sector!!!
MTU issued last Thursday(5.06) the following statement:
Stop the repression on migrants in the name of G-20 Summit
● On May 4, 2010, the Ministry of Justice announced the on-set of the "intensified crackdown period" beginning in June 1, 2010 until August 31.
According to their released copy, the guidelines will be advertised in newspapers starting May 6, and will end on May 30, 2010. Afterwards the "Intensified Crackdown" begins on the 1st of June until August 31, 2010.
The government is once again offering the voluntary departure program to the undocumented workers within this period. They claim that all migrant workers who voluntary leave Korea within this period will be exempted from paying a fine for overstaying and will be exempted from a 5-year immigration ban in Korea. They also said that the workers who voluntarily leave will be able to take the korean language test.
The employers are also encouraged to surrender their undocumented workers so that they can be exempted from paying the fine of up to 20 million won. They will also be able to hire EPS workers that would replace their lost manpower.
The procedure for the employers would be to accompany their undocumented employees to the Airport Immigration office with a airline ticket or to the Immigration office where they are under jurisdiction. They would need to bring proof of their business registration and employment/wage records for the undocumented workers. Once they do this, both the worker and the employer will not be punished.
If they fail to do this however, the workers will be arrested and detained in the immigration center and will be held there until the fines are all paid. After they have been deported, there will also be a 5-year ban imposed on the undocumented workers caught. The new provision also states that this would be the general protocol even after the crackdown period.
The employer can pay up to a maximum of 20 million won in fines and a 3 year ban on hiring EPS workers.
They have also stated that these procedures are being done in preparation for the G-20 summit that Korea will be hosting in November.
● On May 4, 2010 the National Police Agency announced that they have also started the "G-20 Preemptive Response" last May 2.
According to their press release, the "special" investigation and arrest will be done in preparation for the G-20 Summit in November.
They have stated that as the foreign population increases, so do the crime rate in the foreign population. Starting on May 2, 2010, the police force will conduct special investigations in areas where there is a high concentration of foreigners. The investigation will continue for fifty days on the national level. For the Seoul region the investigation will continue for two weeks.
Since majority of the foreign population in Seoul are 75% Chinese. It is easy to surmise that the target for arrests are primarily these ethnic groups. Areas specific to one nationality are classified as target areas or target locations such as the following: the Chinese in Yeoungdungpo, Guro and Guemcheon areas. Mongol in Junggu Gwanghuidong Mongoltown. Vietnamese in Seongdonggu, Geumcheongu and Seongbukgu. Russians and Uzbekistan in Junggu Gwanghuidong Russian street. Finally, the Nigerians in Yongsan and Itaewon.
According to their press release the target of their investigation are the following: 1) Foreigners who are suspects in a crime, 2) Foreigners who are in possession of deadly weapons (knives, etc.), 3) Foreigners who have pending arrest warrants, 4) Sex workers and their costumers and 5) Undocumented migrant workers.
According to their statement, the procedures would involve day and night raids in suspected areas as well as random street checking of the foreign nationals.
The "Foreigner Crime Concentration Investgation" is evidence of the RACIAL BIAS, RACISM and CLASS DISCRIMINATION of the KOREAN GOVERNMENT aimed towards all migrant. The G-20 Summit is just a convenient alibi for them to justify their attack against the migrants of this country.
The Ministry of Justice is again using the kick-out scheme under the guise of the "voluntary departure program", not even giving consideration to the long waiting list of job seekers in labor exporting countries. Also, they have just recently reduced the quota of foreign workers for this year despite the labor shortage in the manufacturing industries. Another factor that they refused to consider is the employability of the undocumented workers citing the fact that a considerable number of undocumented workers are already way past the age limit to be qualified for work. These seniors are by no means less productive. On the contrary, because of their work experience the seniors have higher degree of skills compared to the new workers.
The announcement/report circulated by the National Police Agency is proof that they are targeting individuals according to ethnicity and social background. They have seriously pointed out that the concentration and focus of this action are toward migrant workers.
The Chinese, Mongolian, Vietnamese, Russian, Uzbek and the Nigerians, to name just a few. Special target areas are also named like industrial complexes, factories and areas where there is a high concentration of foreign population.
They have also labeled undocumented workers as "criminals" so that they can justify their arrest. These undocumented workers are productive individuals that contributes their labor. They give back to the community by being consumers. They give back to the society by sharing their culture. They give back to the economy by indirectly paying taxes in everything that they purchase. They create commerce by creating a demand. They export the Korean culture and products. Most of all, they make it a point that they do not disadvantage anyone in the community for fear of endangering their stay in Korea. They are criminalized for not having a piece of paper. To lack a piece of paper is not a crime!
We highly condemn the recent order of battle of both the Ministry of Justice and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Force agency against the foreign community in Korea. The recently introduced protocols are in clear violation of the human rights laws and standards. It is not only unconstitutional it has also violated treaties and conventions from international governing bodies like the UN.
We heavily criticize the Korean dictatorship government of Lee Myeong Bak against the institutionalized commodification of human beings as reflected by the repressive national policies instituted under his dictatorial term. All of the policies introduced by the Korean government up to this day has proven to be self-contradictory to the concept of a Korean multi-cultural society. Today, Korea has once again reverted to barbarism and violence by adapting the failed immigration protocols in the past where death and injuries were rampant. It seemed that the hundreds of lives lost and ruined from the crackdown is not enough to move their conscience. They are willing to sacrifice the lives of migrants in image-building for the G-20 Summit.
WE ARE NOT CRIMINALS!
WE ARE NOT COMMODITIES!
WE ARE NOT YOUR SLAVES!
STOP CRACKDOWN!
ACHIEVE LABOR RIGHTS!
ACHIEVE HUMAN RIGHTS!
http://migrant.nodong.net/?document_srl=27931#0
Related:
☞ Immigration checks to be toughened (K. Times, 5.10)
Today's Hankyoreh wrote: Presenting November’s G-20 summit as its justification, the Ministry of Justice announced on May 3 that it would implement a large-scale crackdown starting next month, foreshadowing another harsh wind to come. Joint Committee with Migrants in Korea (JCMK) Executive Secretary Lee Young said, “It has become the worst possible situation for migrant workers since the current administration came into office.” Lee also said, “The government regards them as criminals and is focused only on isolating and arresting them.”
General Strike in Nepal... Ended(*)
Friday(5.07) afternoon in Kathmandu (according to an eye-witness):
Vigilante gangs broke off from civil society peace march, attacking protesters rocks and sticks. Police respond by tear-gassing canteen, beating Maoists who responded to the attack. Hindu-chauvinist groups attack Maoists with police assistance in the Terai, targetting leaders.... Don’t believe the mainstream press. They smear the movement, portraying right-wing gangs as local residents and protesters as outsiders.
Friday evening in Kathmandu (the same source reported):
UCPN(M) announces end of general strike. Violence from police and vigilante groups was widespread today. Nobody knows yet what this means – the new terms will be announced at mass meetings across the city on Sat./Sun...
NepalNews reported the following:
UCPN (M) withdraws general strike 'considering public woes and govt conspiracy'
After choking the nation for six consecutive days, the Unified CPN (Maoist) has decided to end its 'indefinite' general strike.
A meeting of the UCPN (M)'s standing committee held Friday evening decided to end the general strike "in view of the difficulties caused by the general strike to ordinary people" and the violent confrontations taking place during the demonstrations.
The party will organise mass meetings followed by demonstrations in the capital other major other cities across the country on Saturday and will picket Singha Durbar on Sunday.
"We have decided to stop the general strike considering the difficulty caused to the ordinary people, and also in view of the conspiracy hatched by this government to instigate violence. But we have not stopped our people's movement-III," Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal told media persons after the meeting.
Dahal informed that the party would carry out a series of protest programmes until May 28, the deadline to issue the new constitution.
UCPN(M) had enforced nationwide general strike from Sunday, a day after a it staged the mass rally to celebrate the May Day in the capital. The general strike brought the nation to a complete halt with transportation services, industries, educational institutions and marketplaces remaining closed down while the bandh was starting to cause shortage of food and vegetables in the capital and outside.
Initially, the General Strike was largely peaceful, but as the strike went on, there was increasing violence(**) between the Maoist agitators and those defying the General Strike.
But the General Strike wasn't unsuccessful, not at all! "Although Maoist led, the strike is supported by the majority of workers..", the Scottish Socialist Youth wrote last Wednesday...
And the consistent struggle for "People's Democracy"/"Liberation of the Exploited and Oppressed" has resulted in another important development, as NepalNews reported: "Dozens of popular artistes including movie producers, directors, actors and singers have joined the Unified CPN (Maoist). Party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal welcomed as many as 94 artistes and handed them party membership... Those joining the Maoists include movie producers and actors Yubraj Lama and Mausami Malla and popular directors Rajendra Khadgi and NB Maharjan. Emerging singer Anju Panta, who escalated to fame with her song ‘Na Birse Timilai’ also joined the Maoists."
* ...or rather suspended - for the time being!!
** At least since the 5th Day(5.06) of the General Strike the attacks (carried out by the ruling forces) against the striking people, especially against the Maoist activists were increasing, as the (bourgeois) TelegraphNepal reported:
While the youth cadres of ruling United Marxist Leninist and Nepali Congress parties led retaliatory actions against the Maoists’ cadres at various locations of the country, however, Birgunj, an economic center in the Tarai area, became the center of anti-Maoist violent demonstration. The youths affiliated to a Hindu organization not only vandalized a temporary camp established by the Maoist Party in Birgunj but set ablaze the camp...
Related articles:
☞ 6-day general strike was just a 'trailer' (NepalNews, 5.08)
☞ General strike ends, struggle continues (PSLweb, 5.09)
☞ Police, Maoists clash in Nepal, several injured (AP, 5.09)
While the S.Korean and int'l media are more and more accusing N.Korea to be responsible for the Cheonan incident Kim Myeong-cheol (Pyongyang's propaganda freak in Japan) has a complete different story to tell.
His (conspiracy??)theory (And I'm sure that he's not joking!!) was published in last Wednesday's Asia Times(HK) and you can "enjoy" it here:
Pyongyang sees US role in Cheonan sinking
Despite its strong denial of any involvement and expressions of sympathy for lost fellow Koreans, fingers are being pointed at North Korea over the tragic sinking of the 1,200-ton South Korean corvette Cheonan in the West Sea or Yellow Sea on the night of March 26.
"A North Korean torpedo attack was the most likely cause for the sinking of a South Korean warship last month," an unnamed US military official told CNN on April 26. Up to 46 of the ship's 104 sailors were killed in the sinking.
Apparently, North Korea is being set up as the fall guy in an incident that is so mysterious that a Los Angeles Times April 26 story datelined Seoul was headlined, "James Bond Theories Arise in Korean Ship Sinking".
So far, no hard evidence has been produced linking North Korea to the disaster. However, this has not stopped media and experts from holding the North responsible. The South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo wrote on April 29, "It is difficult to imagine a country other than North Korea launching a torpedo attack against a South Korean warship."
Revealing circumstantial evidence
Is it possible that North Korea carried out the daring act of torpedoing a South Korean corvette participating in a US-South Korean war exercise? The answer is a categorical no. The circumstantial evidence is quite revealing, showing who is the more likely culprit.
Mission impossible
There are four important points that make it clear that a North Korean submarine did not sink the South Korean corvette.
Fact 1: North Korean submarines are not stealthy enough to penetrate heavily guarded South Korean waters at night and remain undetected by the highly touted anti-submarine warfare units of the American and South Korean forces. A North Korean submarine would be unable to outmaneuver an awesome array of high-tech Aegis warships, identify the corvette Cheonan and then slice it in two with a torpedo before escaping unscathed, leaving no trace of its identity.
Fact 2: The sinking took place not in North Korean waters but well inside tightly guarded South Korean waters, where a slow-moving North Korean submarine would have great difficulty operating covertly and safely, unless it was equipped with AIP (air-independent propulsion) technology.
Fact 2.1: The disaster took place precisely in the waters where what the Pentagon has called "one of the world's largest simulated exercises" was underway. This war exercise, known as "Key Resolve/Foal Eagle" did not end on March 18 as was reported but actually ran from March 18 to April 30.
Fact 3: The Key Resolve/Foal Eagle exercise on the West Sea near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) was aimed at keeping a more watchful eye on North Korea as well as training for the destruction of weapons of mass destruction in the North. It involved scores of shiny, ultra-modern US and South Korean warships equipped with the latest technology.
Among the fleet were four Aegis ships: the USS Shiloh (CG-67), a 9,600-ton Ticonderoga class cruiser, the USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), a 6,800-ton Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, the USS Lassen, a 9,200-ton Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer and Sejong the Great, a 8,500-ton South Korean guided-missile destroyer.
The four surface ships are the most important assets of the two navies, and have multi-mission platforms capable of conducting various tasks, such as anti-submarine warfare. There is every likelihood that they were supported by nuclear-powered US submarines and a South Korean "Type 214" submarine that uses AIP technology.
The sinking of the Cheonan has made headlines around the world. If indeed it was a US accident, it is an embarrassing indictment of the accuracy of the expensive weapons systems of the US, the world's leading arms exporter. It has also cost the Americans credibility as the South's superpower guardian. Ironically, this has made North Korean-made weapons more attractive on the international market.
The South Koreans and the Americans charging the North Koreans with the sinking of the naval vessel in South Korean waters only highlights the poor performance of their expensive Aegis warships, as well as the futility of the US-South Korean joint war games and the US military presence in Korea.
Fact 4: Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said on March 30 that he doubted there was North Korean involvement in the sinking: "Obviously the full investigation needs to go forward. But to my knowledge, there's no reason to believe or to be concerned that that may have been the cause."
General Walter Sharp, US Forces Korea (USFK) commander, also saw no link between North Korea and the sinking. In an April 6 press conference, he said: "We, as Combined Forces Command and the ROK [Republic of Korea] Joint Chief of Staff, watch North Korea very closely every single day of the year and we continue to do that right now. And again, as this has been said, we see no unusual activity at this time."
No motivation for vengeance
There have been misplaced reports that the sinking was an act of retaliation for a naval skirmish in November last year "in which the North came off worse", as reported by the Times of London on April 22.
As a North Korean navy officer, Kim Gwang-il, recalled on North Korean television on Armed Forces Day, April 25: "[In that incident] a warship of our navy single-handedly faced up to several enemy warships, to guard the NLL ... [The North's warship] inflicted merciless blows on them in a show of the might of the heroic Korean People's Army (KPA) Navy."
The first duty of the KPA is to prevent war while jealously safeguarding the territorial air, sea and land of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as this safeguards the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula.
The Korean People's Army Navy would not attack South Korean or American warships unless provoked, since these vessels carry innocent soldiers on the high seas. True, the KPA Navy would be justified in torpedoing a US Aegis ship or a nuclear-powered submarine if one were caught red-handed. But the KPA Navy would not stoop to infringing on South Korean waters to attack a South Korean ship at random, unless it had returned there after committing hostile acts against North Korea.
Friendly fire
Seven facts indicate friendly fire as the most likely cause of the naval disaster. It may be no exaggeration to say that the South Korean president and his military leaders have shed crocodile tears over the dead South Korean sailors.
A torpedo could have been launched from any of the American or South Korean warships or warplanes taking part in the Foal Eagle exercise alongside the hapless Cheonan.
The four Aegis ships and most South Korean warships carry Mark 46 torpedoes, which have improved shallow-water performance for anti-submarine warfare and anti-ship operations.
General Sharp had issued on March 4 a five-point safety message warning that "a single accident can undermine the training benefits you will receive during KR/FE '10. Remain vigilant and engaged."
It appears that Sharp's warning came true, and the US repeated the kind of friendly fire incident for which it is notorious in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After the ship disaster happened on the night of March 26, Sharp promptly cut a visit to Washington to testify at congress to fly back to Seoul, according to the March 30 edition of Kyonggi Ilbo.
President Barack Obama then called his South Korean counterpart on April 1, ostensibly to express condolences over the ship disaster, but also to offer him the privilege of hosting the next nuclear security summit in 2012, as was reported by JoongAng Ilbo on April 14.
Obama made this offer one week before he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a nuclear arms reduction treaty in Prague, and two weeks before the 2010 nuclear security summit took place in Washington.
When Obama announced his decision to select South Korea as host of the next major nuclear security summit in 2012, Agence France-Presse reported that "the announcement surprised many". Most observers presumed that Russia would lead the next meeting.
The most plausible explanation is that Obama offered South Korea the summit due to an overriding need to mollify otherwise possible South Korean resentment at the friendly fire sinking, while covering up the US's involvement in a friendly fire torpedo attack. Most probably, Sharp reported to Obama the potentially disastrous consequences of the public discovering the true nature of the incident. This would likely lead to a massive wave of anti-American sentiment and put Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in an extremely awkward situation.
Obama must have felt relieved at the South Korean president's ready acceptance of his offer of compensation. One article carried in the April 14 edition of JoongAng Ilbo was headlined "Veep Biden Says LMB [Lee Myung-bak] Is Obama's Favorite Man". The comment was made by Biden on April 12, one day before the nuclear summit.
Sharp unexpectedly attended the April 3 funeral of a South Korean rescue diver, Han Ju Ho, who died while participating in the search for missing sailors from the corvette. Sharp was seen consoling the bereaved family in an unprecedented expression of sympathy.
JoongAng Ilbo reported on April 27 that the South Korean government would deal strictly with rumors rampant on the Internet that a collision with a US nuclear submarine had caused the sinking.
The best solution is for the South Korean government team investigating the ship disaster to find an old mine responsible. It is easy to falsely accuse North Korea, but public pressure will mount for military reprisals against North Korea, which will promptly react by turning Seoul into a sea of fire in less than five minutes. North Korea would not flinch from using nuclear arms in the event of US involvement.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/LE05Dg01.html
The statement below was issued y'day by an anarchist collective in Athens
supporting/joining the struggle/strikes of the Greek working class:
The murderers “mourn” their victims
Regarding today’s tragic death of 3 bank workers
The enormous strike demonstration which took place today, 5th of May turned into a social outflow of rage. At least 200,000 people of all ages took to the streets (employees and unemployed, in the public and private sector, locals and migrants) attempting, over many hours and in consecutive waves, to surround and to take over the Parliament. The forces of repression came out in full force, to play their familiar role – that is, of the protection of the political and financial authorities. The clashes were hours long and extensive. The political system and its institutions reached a nadir.
However, in the midst of all this, a tragic event that no words can possibly describe took place: 3 people died from infusions at the branch of Marfin Bank on Stadiou Avenue, which was set ablaze.
The state and the entire journalistic riff-raff, without any shame toward the dead or their close ones, spoke from the very first moment about some “murderer-hooded up youths”, trying to take advantage of the event, in order to calm the wave of social rage that had erupted and to recover their authority that had been torn apart; to impose once again a police occupation of the streets, to wipe out sources of social resistance and disobedience against state terrorism and capitalist barbarity. For this reason, during the last few hours the police forces have been marching through the center of Athens, they have conducted hundreds of detentions and they raided – with shootings and stun-grenades – the anarchist occupation “space of united multiform action” on Zaimi street and the “migrant haunt” on Tsamadou Street, causing extensive damage (both these places are in the Exarcheia neighbourhood of Athens). At the same time the threat of a violent police eviction is hanging over the rest of the self-organised spaces (occupations and haunts) after the Prime-ministerial speech which referred to soon-to-come raids for the arrest of the “murderers”.
The governors, governmental officials, their political personnel, the TV-mouthpieces and the salaried hack writers attempt in this way to purify their regime and the criminalise the anarchists and every unpatronised voice of struggle. As if there would ever be the slightest of chances that whoever attacked the bank (provided the official scenario stands) would possibly know there were people inside, and that they would torch it alight regardless. They seem to confuse the people in struggle for themselves: them who without any hesitation hand over the entire society to the deepest pillage and enslaving, who order their praetorians to attack without hesitation and to aim and shoot to kill, them who have lead three people to suicide in the past week alone, due to financial debts.
The truth is that the real murderer, the real instigator of today’s tragic death of 3 people is “mister” Vgenopoulos, who used the usual employers’ blackmailing (the threat of sacking) and forced his employees to work in the branches of his bank during a day of strike – and even in a branch like the one of Stadiou Avenue, where the strike’s demonstration would pass through. Such blackmailing is known only too well by anyone experiencing the terrorism of salaried slavery on an everyday level. We are awaiting to see what excuses Vgenopoulos will come up with for the relatives of the victims and for the society as a whole – this ultra-capitalist now hinted by some centers of power as the next prime minister in a future “national unity government” that could follow the expected, complete collapse of the political system.
If an unprecedented strike can ever be a murderer…
If an unprecedented demonstration, in an unprecedented crisis, can ever be a murderer…
If open social spaces that are alive and public can ever be murderers…
If the state can impose a curfew and attack demonstrators under the pretext of arresting murderers…
If Vgenopoulos can detain his employees inside a bank – that is, a primary social enemy and target for demonstrators…
…it is because authority, this serial murderer, wants to slaughter upon its birth a revolt which questions the supposed solution of an even harsher attack on society, of an even larger pillage by capital, of an even thirstier sucking of our blood.
…it is because the future of the revolt does not include politicians and bosses, police and mass media.
… it is because behind their much-advertised “only” solution, there is a solution that does not speak of development rates and unemployment but rather, it speaks of solidarity, self-organising and human relationships.
When asking who are the murderers of life, of freedom, of dignity, the ferments of authority and capital, they and their tuft hunters only need to take a look at their own selves. Today and every day...
Nepal in General Strike
Today is the 4th day of the General Strike, organised by the UCPN(M), and it "shuts down much of Nepal", as the int'l media is reporting.
AP about today's events: "Nepal's Maoist opposition blocked streets leading to key government offices Wednesday on the fourth day of their crippling general strike to demand the prime minister's resignation, while the government vowed not to bow to protesters' pressure..."
But more and more public figures and even politicians of the current "ruling" forces, such as UML leaders (according to the Nepali media), are demanding the PM Nepal's immediate resignation.
About yesterday's main events an eye-witness wrote: "The Ring Road that circles Kathmandu was surrounded in rings of protesters. 28 kilometers long in two rows, sometimes four. With 18 marches of roughly 20,000+ each..."
About Monday's situation in Kathmandu an foreign activist reported: "At dusk, police fired tear gas at marchers near Gongabu bus terminal, and live ammunition into the air to push back the crowds. No one was seriously injured, nor was anyone too shaken at the scene. People are determined and won't be scared off. Rallies throughout the city..."
Related reports:
☞ Maoists block roads to government offices (Kansas City Star, 5.05)
☞ Resign PM Nepal: Civil society leader orders (TelegraphNepal, 5.05)
Today's topics: A new threat by MoJ & Migrant Workers' "May Day" rally
1. Ministry of "Justice" announced on Monday a new crackdown campaign as Yonhap(5.03) reported:
Illegal migrants given until Aug. 31 to leave S. Korea
South Korea will introduce a temporary grace period to allow foreigners staying here illegally to leave without punishment, the Justice Ministry said Monday, while promising to crack down on those who fail to depart ahead of the Seoul G-20 summit.
The measure will go into effect from Thursday until Aug. 31 under a government effort to reduce the number of foreign nationals staying here without permission, the ministry said. About 180,000 are estimated to be residing in South Korea illegally.
Related article:
☞ Voluntary exit program launched for illegal aliens (K. Times, 5.04)
2. Last Sunday in Seoul: Migrant workers commemorated this year's Int'l Struggle Day of the Working Class with a powerful rally/culture festival and comrade "Hong Gil-dong in the Forest" - as usual (well, it's just your 'rev. duty'!!) - documented the event (TXL, dear comrade!!). Here you can watch his video!
Related report:
☞ “우리는 노예가 아닙니다. 인간입니다.” (SaladTV, 5.04)
"Nepal's former Maoist guerrillas paralysed the capital and 10 more key cities with an impressive show of strength on May Day..." the bourgeois Times of India reported on Sunday.
Well, the May Day protest in Nepal, especially in Kathmandu was a complete success for the UCPN(M)! In the Napali capital est. 300,000 people followed the Maoists' call and joined their rally/demonstrations (possibly it was the most powerful May Day celebration worldwide!!).
But the May Day "event" was just the beginning of a long before announced nationwide indefinite General Strike, also organised by the UCPN(M), to resolve the political crisis/deadlock generated by the current "ruling" forces (NP, CPN/UML etc.) in the country...
But despite KP Oli's (CPN/UML) stupid comment that the "Kids on street cannot topple the govt...", the General Strike is until now very successful... According to today's e-Kantipur "the normal life has been complete crippled in Nepal on the second day of the General Strike imposed by the UCPN (Maoist) demanding that the incumbent coalition government stepped down".
Related:
☞ 2nd day of general strike further mars normal life (NepalNews, 5.03)
☞ General strike shuts down much of Nepal (Guardian, 5.02)
☞ Pics: The 1st day of General Strike (TelegraphNepal, 5.02)
☞ Pics: May Day Protest (TelegraphNepal, 5.01)
☞ Maoists throw May Day challenge to Nepal govt (ToI, 5.01)
This year's May Day protests in Greece might be just the beginning of a massive wave of resistance against - what activists are calling - the "upcoming dictatorship of the IMF Junta" (to "resolve" the financial crisis). For the next Wednesday a nationwide General Strike is already scheduled...
Here some impressions from yesterday's mass protests in Athens:
More updated selected news reports about the current class struggle in Greece you'll get on LabourStart!!
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