CINA

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^^WHAT A SURPRISE^^

Today in the morning(CET) AP reported following:

N. Korea Won't Abandon Nukes

A senior North Korean diplomat strongly indicated that his country has no plans to abandon nuclear weapons, despite its agreement to return to six-nation disarmament talks, according to news reports Wednesday.

North Korea's deputy foreign minister, Kang Sok Ju, speaking to a group of reporters while passing through Beijing from Russia, instead demanded that the United States lift financial sanctions against the North, Japan's NHK television and Kyodo News agency said.

Kang said North Korea had not tested nuclear weapons only to get rid of them, the reports said.

"Why would we abandon nuclear weapons?" NHK and Kyodo quoted Kang as saying in a Japanese translation of his comments in Korean. "Are you saying we conducted a nuclear test in order to abandon them?"

Asked if Pyongyang planned to demand the U.S. lift sanctions, Kang said, "of course," NHK and Kyodo reported...

In September 2005, Pyongyang agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for security guarantees and aid, but it withdrew from the talks with the U.S., China, South Korea, Japan and Russia two months later, protesting Washington's financial sanctions over suspected money laundering...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/21/AR2006112100338.html

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2001年11月21日

Remembering that date..

..after all, I think I lost all my means of expression..

계속 보기...

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The False and Reactionary Nature of Bourgeois "Democracy" (Rodong Shinmun, 11.19)

   Democracy calls for shaping policies according to the intention of the broad popular masses, implementing them to serve their interests and substantially providing them with genuine freedom, rights and happy life. Such genuine democracy is socialist democracy, says Rodong Sinmun Sunday in a signed article. There can never be genuine democracy in the capitalist society where all the state power is in the hands of a few capitalists and it is based on individualism, the article says, and goes on:
    The popular masses cannot seize power and they are excluded from independent political activities and the state power is in the clutches of a handful capitalists. This is one of main reasons why there can never be genuine democracy in the capitalist society.
    Another reason why there can never be genuine democracy in the capitalist society is that this society is based on extreme individualism.
    Democracy claimed by the imperialists is sham democracy and it is no more than a camouflage to deceive the popular masses and cover the reactionary nature of bourgeois dictatorship and the unpopular nature of the capitalist system.
    Bourgeois democracy, so-called democracy in the capitalist society, provides freedom and rights to the privileged capitalists only and no rights and equality are given to the broad grassroots masses. This democracy, therefore, can not be called democracy in its true sense of the word.
    The false and reactionary nature of bourgeois democracy can be found in the socio-political lives of Americans.
    There are many youngsters roaming about to get food and homeless and unemployed people in the U.S.
    The freedom of speech and the freedom of the press in the U.S. where the reactionary American rulers loudly propagandized about the application of democracy are no more than bourgeois democracy, bogus democracy.
    Free election campaigns which the U.S. rulers advertise as model of democracy clearly prove the true nature of bourgeois democracy.
    They say equal opportunity and equal freedom and rights are provided to all people but, in fact, it is only a handful of privileged strata who benefit from them. Herein lies another reactionary nature of the bourgeois democracy...

..(of course) in complete opposition to the "People's Democracy" of Juche ideology ^^

And just to prove Rodong Shinmun's article, Korea Times, a bourgeois (of course reactionary^^) daily in "south Korea" published today following example of the "sick bourgeois democracy":

"Many Koreans get angry over some foreign Web sites that despoil the Korean image...

Japanese Web sites that give an account of history that Korean disagree with exceed 400. They claim Dokdo islets are a Japanese territory, and they use ``Sea of Japan'' instead of the ``East Sea,''...

By typing the word ``Korea'' to the biggest online search engine in China, one can get access to more than 30,000 postings about conflicts between Korea and China over the history of the Koguryo Dynasty...

While most of the Japanese or Chinese online postings indicated ``hatred'' toward Korea, most of the Web sites from the west displayed ``ignorance.'' Many Web sites from the United States or Australia showed that all they really know about Korean culture is eating dogs...

Some of the laid-off workers at the LG-Phillips factory in Aachen, Germany, conducted an online boycott of Korean products to protest the closing of the factory...

Many of these sites are quite damaging to the Korean image and Hallyu. The sites are not easy for the government to control because it concentrates on promoting the Korean image rather than regulating or correcting the contents of individual Web sites..."

Read the entire sh.. here:

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200611/kt2006112017443111970.htm

Ya, it's complete impossible, that everyone have the possibility to say/write what he/she is thinking!!

What a shame that "the sites are not easy for the government to control"! F.. (bourgeois) DEMOCRACY!!

"..laid-off workers at the LG-Phillips factory.. conducted an online boycott of Korean products.." In the DPRK it would be complete impossible that fired workers, for example in Gaeseong, express their disappointment/anger (Yodok is just waiting!!)..

But just wait until the reunification under the wise leadership of... Then (at the latest) all this sick style of f.. democracy will be abolished!!

The Korean nation condemning the

"sick bourgeois democracy"^^

로동신문 부르죠아민주주의의 허위성과 반동성
 
 
(평양 11월 19일발 조선중앙통신)19일부 《로동신문》은 광범한 인민대중의 의사에 따라 정책을 세우고 인민대중의 리익에 맞게 그것을 관철하며 인민대중에게 참다운 자유와 권리, 행복한 생활을 실질적으로 보장하여주는것이 바로 민주주의이라고 하면서 세상에 이러한 참다운 민주주의는 오직 하나 사회주의적민주주의이라고 지적하였다.

론설의 필자는 국가의 모든 권력이 소수 자본가들의 수중에 장악되여있으며 개인주의에 기초하고있는 자본주의사회에서는 결코 진정한 민주주의가 있을수 없다고 하면서 다음과 같이 썼다.

자본주의사회에서는 인민대중이 정권의 주인으로 되지 못하고 자주적인 정치생활에서 제외되고있으며 국가의 모든 권력이 소수 자본가들의 손에 쥐여져있다.바로 여기에 자본주의사회에 진정한 민주주의가 있을수 없는 주되는 근거의 하나가 있다.

자본주의사회에 진정한 민주주의가 있을수 없는 근거는 또한 극단한 개인주의에 기초하고있는 자본주의제도자체의 본질에도 있다.

제국주의자들이 떠드는 《민주주의》는 가짜민주주의이며 오직 인민대중을 기만하고 부르죠아독재의 반동성과 자본주의제도의 반인민적본질을 가리우기 위한 위장물에 지나지 않는다.

자본주의사회에서의 이른바 《민주주의》,부르죠아민주주의는 자본가계급,소수 특권계급에게만 자유와 권리를 보장해주고 광범한 인민대중에게는 무권리와 불평등을 가져다준다. 따라서 그것은 본래의 의미에서 민주주의가 아니다.

론설은 부르죠아민주주의의 허위성과 반동성은 무엇보다도 미국의 사회정치생활에서 잘 나타나고있다고 하면서 다음과 같이 계속하였다.

오늘 미국에는 먹을것을 찾아 떠돌아다니는 청소년들,집없는 사람들,일자리를 찾아 헤매이는 실업자들이 헤아릴수 없이 많다.

미국반동지배층이 입을 모아 《민주주의의 철저한 구현》에 대해 요란하게 선전하는 미국에서의 이른바 《언론의 자유》,《출판의 자유》 역시 부르죠아민주주의,가짜민주주의에 지나지 않는다.

미국지배층이 《민주주의의 표본》이라고 광고하는 미국에서의 이른바 《자유로운 선거경쟁》도 부르죠아민주주의의 진면모를 잘 보여준다.

외견상으로는 모든 사람들에게 평등한 기회,똑같은 자유와 권리를 주는듯이 꾸며놓고 실제에 있어서는 소수 특권계층만이 그것을 누리며 행사할수 있게 하는데 부르죠아민주주의의 반동적특징의 하나가 있다.

http://www.kcna.co.jp/calendar/2006/11/11-20/2006-1119-006.html

^=^

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SUPER KIM

"Ignore and Continue!"

^=^

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Well, it seems that Chosun Ilbo wants to prove that it is the most idiotic - even its one of the most widely read (bourgeois) - newspapers in S.K.! Already on 11.16 it published this f****** b.. sh..:

DLP Spy Suspect 'Drew Up Terror Hit List'

DLP-fighter, ready to strike Cheongwadae,..

..guided by KPA undercover special unit.

And only one day later it continued to publish such a rubbish:

DLP Member Planned 100 Terror Attacks.. 
   
A Democratic Labor Party member and failed North Korean spy planned terror attacks against 100 leading conservative and other figures in 1998, prosecutors say. They said Park Jong-ki told investigators he planned to attack former president Chun Doo-hwan, Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, Chosun Ilbo president Bang Sang-hoon and former North Korean Workers’ Party official Hwang Jang-yup, who defected to the South the previous year. Park allegedly already staked out the homes of three of them, including Bang. An investigator quoted Park as saying he had on several occasions tried to purchase a gun but decided it would be too difficult to carry out a series of single attacks and scrapped his plans. He is still being grilled about any other action he may have taken to realize his plans.

Investigators want to know if Park was involved in an attack on Chosun Ilbo honorary chairman Bang Woo-young in Uijeongbu in September this year. Uijeongbu police have been given Park’s cell phone number and personal information by prosecutors and are investigating what he was doing on the day of the attack, when unknown assailants lobbed a slogan-wrapped brick through the rear window of Bang’s car.

According to investigators, Park never settled in a permanent job and as a result grew dissatisfied with the capitalist system. Park dropped out of high school in South Gyeongsang Province and briefly took to farming before leaving for the capital. After failing the college entrance exam and civil service exam, he worked as a driver and started reading books on the labor movement and Communist theory, prosecutors said.

In March 2003, Park went to North Korea by crossing the Tumen River from China’s Jilin Province, but the North handed Park over to Chinese police, who released him after he paid US$3,000 in fines. Park allegedly gave the North information about the location of U.S. military bases in the South, the deployment of tanks and the number of forces stationed along the Military Demarcation Line.

Park was arrested on Oct. 24 on charges of passing information on South Korean military facilities, roads and the mood in civic and social organizations to Pyongyang. He is also charged with posting pro-North Korean propaganda on the Internet. Investigators believe the North expelled Park since it concluded that he was no use as a source of intelligence, but they kept an eye on him in case he had returned to South Korea at Pyongyang’s orders. Prosecutors plan to indict Park for violating the National Security Law.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200611/200611170014.html 

Haha, it's, perhaps, just a matter of time that they (Chosun Ilbo, GNP, etc.) will demand the prohibition/ban of DLP because of planned "terror activities"..

But actually its not the first time that Chosun Ilbo (and other SK bourgeois media) are/were trying to connect progressive organisations with so-called "terrorism". Just remember the campaign against ETU-MB/MSSC about two years ago: "Mad, or what?!".

BTW.. I'm not a fan of the social-democratic DLP, but I think that all parts of the civil society (and DLP is a part of it) should be defended against the attacks of such stupid (reactionary) idiots, like Chosun Ilbo and its collaborators..

Aeh, but on the other side... don't take this (Chosun Ilbo, etc..) to serious^^

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Today, three years and two days ago about 200 migrant workers have begun their 387-day sit-in strike on Myeong-dong Cathedral's compound (in downtown Seoul) to protest against the beginning of S.K. government's crackdown - man hunt, mass arrests and deportations - against (undocumented) migrant workers in the country.

Hundreds of articles, published all over the world (really!!) about our struggle you can read when you give in "ETU-MB/MSSC(Myeong-dong Sit-in Struggle Collective)"... for example in google, or naver.

On the ETU-MB (the predecessor organization of MTU) homepage you can see the entire story of the sit-in strike in photographes (PDS/Photo, starting on page 48).

Here just some impressions from the first night of the strike in Myeong-dong:

Video activist comrade "Hong Gil-dong from the Forest"(숲속홍길동同志) accompanied our struggle from the beginning of the sit-in strike until the - bitter - end (of course he's reporting also nowadays about MTU's activities!!). Here you can watch the (nearly) complete collection of his documentaries about it:

☞ 이주.. 투쟁 영상 "alltogether.." 

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After I was deported last year to Germany I had to find out that many (of the remaining) "leftists" - mainly Trotskyists - were/are making massive propaganda for the "Socialism of the 21st century", aka the "Bolivarian Revolution" in Venezuela. Actually I had no real idea about what was/is going on in this country..

Of course I knew about the "liberation struggle"  in Latin America, for example in Columbia (CPC/ML, EPL, ELN, FARC..), the history about the anti-fascist resistance in Chile, the "Shining Path"(C.P.Peru).. But about Venezuela - I had no real idea, not really. But I remember that in the middle of the 90's we, our "communist party" in Germany had once visitors from Venezuela (Partido Bandera Roja, Red Flag Party/RFP). And they "promised" us that "in the next year" they will make in their country "the revolution". But actually it wasn't happen. Instead in 1998 Chavez, a former miltary officer won the election. Later I'd to learn that the RFP was/is in strongest opposition to the Chavez gov't, and even supported the failed coup against the gov't..(harrharr, f.. "communists"!)

Just a few days ago I saw on a friend's blog something about Chavez' "revolution" and on jinbonet.blog there is also something about it since yesterday or so..

Anyway(perhaps in the coming days I'll write some of my thoughts about this issue here).. just three days ago I found in The Guardian following article:

Welcome to the Chávez revolution - where the rich keep getting richer

Venezuela's surging economy means its world of country clubs, fine wines and luxury cars still flourishes 
   
Another agreeable lunch ended at the Caracas Country Club with a bottle of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, the chef's famous flan and a round of espressos.
From their table in the sun-kissed courtyard the three businessmen could hear only the fountain's gurgle, the murmur of other diners, the clink of glasses and the swish of waiters.

A socialist revolution is supposed to be clanging through Venezuela but from this oasis of wealth in the heart of the capital it is inaudible, just like the traffic. "The revolution is blah blah blah. We don't feel threatened," said one of the trio, a shoe factory owner.

Much of the country's elite, it seems, feel the same way. President Hugo Chávez has warned that "capitalism will lead to the destruction of humanity" but seldom has there been a better time to make, spend and enjoy money.
The economy is surging at 9.4% and banks and credit card companies are reporting exponential increases in deposits and loans. Car sales are expected to more than double this year to 300,000, many of them luxury models, and property prices rival Manhattan.

The reason is oil. As the world's fifth biggest exporter Venezuela has thrived as the barrel price hovers around $60.

Unlike previous petro-booms, however, this one is supposed to be different as there is a powerful president who wears a red beret, quotes Che Guevara and praises Cuban communism. Mr Chávez has garnered global attention with promises to "transform the structures of capitalism".

Billions of dollars have been spent on improving health care and education for the country's poor and in the countryside a small minority of sugar plantations and ranches have been turned into socialist cooperatives.

But property rights and the structure of the economy remain intact, largely because the government does not want to impede its revenue, prompting relief from the elite and grumbles from the radical left who want greater redistribution of resources. "If you look at what it has accomplished, it is a neoliberal government," Douglas Bravo, a former Marxist guerrilla who was once close to Mr Chávez, lamented to the daily El Nacional.

Mr Chávez has described his eight years in power as a transition and promised a more radical phase, inspired partly by Fidel Castro's Cuba, if he wins another term in an election next month. Polls predict a landslide.

Alberto Garrido, a historian and leading pundit, said there was revolutionary intent but that an Americanised consumer culture in love with baseball, McDonald's and designer labels obliged the government to tread cautiously.

A notable example is golf. In August the mayor of Caracas and presidential ally, Juan Barreto, threatened to expropriate swaths of Caracas Country Club and Valle Arriba golf club to build houses for the poor.

Three months later Chávismo has not conquered the fairways. The vice-president, Vincente Rangel, scorned the idea and Mr Chávez, not wanting to pick this fight in the run-up to an election, said not a word, leaving the mayor to fight a lonely battle against the clubs' lawyers.

Caracas Country Club, founded in 1918 and with 8,000 well-heeled members, went on the offensive last week by claiming the expropriation threat was based on fraudulent documents. "We feel it will be resolved rationally, we are confident in the rule of law," said the club president, Fernando Zozaya. Asked about the revolution Mr Zozaya was wary, not wanting to provoke the government. "Let's say it's a very special type of socialism."

The three businessmen lunching in the courtyard were more explicit in mocking it as empty bluster. "It hasn't touched my work, I'm left alone," said one.

That did not stop them loathing Mr Chávez, whom they blamed for inflation, crime, corruption and a climate of intolerance which blocks government critics from state jobs.

Tellingly, none of the trio wanted to give his name. "You don't know the way it's going to end up so you don't want to jeopardise yourself," said one.

Stories abound of money being spirited abroad and of lobbying for US and European visas, lest hasty emigration becomes necessary.

Bubbling beneath the economic bonanza is a widespread sense of unease that the country has been here before. During two huge oil booms in the 1970s there was giddy talk of "La Gran Venezuela" in which petrodollars would permanently transform the economy and in which everything was possible.

Instead the economy was slowly strangled by overdependence on one exploitable resource which created production bottlenecks, inefficiency, corruption and mismanagement, paving the way for a crash when oil prices fell.

A US opinion pollster, Alex Evans, said the boom was insufficient reason for the elite, comprising 5% of the population, to support the incumbent. "They just don't like the guy."

There is a paradox that the more Mr Chávez denounces the United States, which he calls an empire run by a devil, the closer the countries' two economies become.

Bilateral trade soared by over a third to $40bn last year. Most was oil but it also included car production and financial services from the likes of Halliburton, a company linked to the US vice-president, Dick Cheney.

The fruits were on display at a Caracas expo of luxury vehicles and speedboats. Staff at six stands interviewed by the Guardian all said business had never been so good.

"It's ironic, this revolution. The rich are even richer now," said Rene Diaz, who was selling Humvee-type 4x4s which cost up to $150,000.

The most popular drink at the bar was the most expensive - an 18-year-old whisky.

"They don't want the cheaper stuff," shrugged a barman.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/venezuela/story/0,,1947026,00.html

21세기 사회주의(^^)

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KCTU's latest ("propaganda") video for to get int'l solidarity:

"10 Years After to OECD - Trade Union Repression in South Korea You can see the latest situation of trade union repression at South Korea through this video clip. It includes the cases of government repression against the Korean Gevernment Employees' Union, Construction Workers and Irregular workers."(*)

* of course.. "10 years after the OECD.."^^

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About two weeks ago I was invited to a meeting with leading CPN(M) activists, organized by a German-Turkish maoist group. The activists from Nepal wanted to inform about the current situation in their country and the organizers wanted to publicise the "next steps on the way of the revolution in Nepal". But finally the entire meeting was only disappointing, extreme unsatisfactorily. The activists from CPN(M) in their "lecture" had nothing to say, except some complete empty political statements, what you can read in every old-school maoist propaganda paper. In direct discussions, for example asked about the recent trouble (partly violent clashes) between CPN(M) and the Nepalese trade union GEFONT(for more about it please check out Major Trade Unions Condemn Maoist Attack), the activists from Nepal had nothing to say, even they didn't know about the fact (that's what they said..).

The entire meeting reminded me on similar meetings 20 years ago with activists from Latin American or Palestinian "communist" organizations, or representatives of countries of the former so-called "Real Existing Socialism"... or like my experiences with cadres of the North Korean KWP.

Ha, and just few days after this meeting with the CPN(M) activists I had to find out the interview with Prachanda, the chairman of CPN(M), in Daily Telegraph(I already uploaded the article here: http://blog.jinbo.net/CINA/?pid=979)

Now, only few days ago (11.11) the Chinese/HK magazine Asia Times published following analyzing(?) article:

Nepal's experiment with Maoism

The deal reached on Wednesday in Nepal is being described as historic. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who has been leading a coalition government since May, told the Nepali people that the latest set of political decisions was an achievement for all.
 

"It is not a defeat of anyone. Neither is it a victory of a particular political party," was how Koirala offered his first explanation on the deal that was struck between the Seven Party Alliance he heads and the Maoists, who have agreed to end a decade-old armed insurgency that claimed more than 13,000 lives.
 

Both Koirala and Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal (aka Prachanda) said Nepal was about to enter a new era. Men and women closely working with them during the weeks and months of arduous negotiations, too, consider that the outcome did constitute a step, if not a leap, forward.
 

The international community closely watching developments in Nepal also appeared convinced that the peace process was gaining momentum and that it should be maintained.
 

While Koirala's explanation that the agreement was not a victory of a particular political party tried to allay fears of his partner parties and some others outside the coalition, it could not dissuade the Maoist leadership from organizing victory rallies across the country.
 

Maoists chose a five-star hotel to call a press conference where Prachanda claimed that what was happening in Nepal would be "the first great world experiment of 21st century". His expressions there reflected the Maoists' perception that it was their party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), that harvested most of the gains to be made from the deal.
 

Prachanda and his comrades-in-arms had reasons to be exhilarated. The foremost among them is the fact that their party carried weight that is equivalent to that of the seven parties combined. They accomplished this unparalleled position primarily because of the insurgency they think they successfully conducted in the period beginning in 1996. But some of their rivals claimed that the deal proved that the Maoists were rapidly becoming a spent force.
 

Prachanda's success in Nepal must be a bittersweet piece of news to Peru's revolutionary leader, Abimael Guzman, who is languishing in a Lima jail for his role in the Shining Path movement that cost nearly 70,000 lives. The Nepali Maoist leadership has admitted in the past that it drew inspiration from "Comrade Gonzalo's" movement. In 1993, dozens of Nepali legislators responded to a signature campaign for Gonzalo's release launched by some left-wing politicians who later rose to be senior Maoist leaders.
 

The other notable achievements Maoists have made include a provision for their sizable presence in a 330-strong interim parliament, to be set up by November 26. Maoists are to get 73 seats, which is equal to the number being allocated to the second-largest party in the present ruling alliance.
 

The other gain Maoists have made is in the form of a government undertaking to reciprocate the rebel offer to separate combatants from weapons and place them under United Nations supervision. According to agreement, the Nepalese army has to demobilize an equal number of its soldiers until elections to a constitutional assembly are held by next June.
 

In normal circumstances, the state army would have objected to such an arrangement, but this is not likely to happen now in the context of a new military law that has removed traditional linkages with, and loyalty to, King Gyanendra. Besides, the November 8 deal specifically stipulates that the army has to follow strictly the orders issued by the cabinet. This cabinet, expected to be formed by December 1, will include representatives from the Maoist party as well.
 

In exchange of these gains, Maoists have agreed to renounce violence. Their combatants, members of the "People's Liberation Army", are to be kept in seven cantonments in different parts of the country. The PLA claims it has about 35,000 combatants. UN representative Ian Martin said these camps need to be set up in "accessible areas" to make monitoring effective.
 

Maoists have pledged to engage themselves in competitive politics and seek state power through elections. Prachanda has publicly promised to take his "democratic" agenda to the voters during the campaign for elections to the constitutional assembly.
 

Prachanda's deputy, Baburam Bhattarai, conceded in a seminar a few weeks ago that Maoists have realized that contemporary trends and events in and around Nepal would not permit them to grab power through the insurgency they were leading. In other words, the latest Maoist commitments are real. They don't want to return to their hideouts in the jungles.
 

Nevertheless, the level of trust among the parties involved is less than adequate to implement decisions, which could have far-reaching consequences. While the Maoist leadership fears sabotage from conservative and reactionary elements, the alliance leaders are skeptical about the sincerity and honesty on the part of Maoists.
 

When Prime Minister Koirala stood before the incumbent parliament on Thursday to explain the importance of landmark deal, he made an appeal to the Maoists to abide by the agreement "in letters and spirit". He said he wanted them to change their conduct and behavior. Koirala, who faced considerable international pressure during negotiations with the rebels, was addressing the concerns of Nepal's friends and well-wishers abroad.
 

It was reflected, for instance, in the statement the British government issued through Foreign and Commonwealth Minister Kim Howells with respect to the rule of law, "without which any peace agreement will be inherently fragile". In other words, the Maoist leadership must work to ensure the end of the phase of anarchy through extortion, abductions, and beating and killing innocent people.
 

Prachanda canceled a public meeting scheduled for Friday in the wake of widespread complaints from the residents of Kathmandu Valley that they were forced to agree to feed and provide accommodation to thousands of people who were brought into the valley to attend the meeting to be addressed by the top Maoist leader.
 

"The main responsibility now is on the rebel leadership, to rope in the cadres and convert the rebellion into a political party," said Kanak Dixit, editor of Himal publications.
 

But will the Maoist leadership take such a suggestion seriously? Doubts and suspicions persist. Some of the doubts emanate from the style in which the Maoists continue to conduct their activities, and others are associated with the substantive issues at hand. Those who care to read messages from the Maoist work style allude to the press conference that Prachanda addressed after signing the agreement.
 

The wall behind the stage set the for the show was cluttered with banners that either depicted hammer-and-sickle signs or eulogized Marxism, Leninism, Maoism and Prachandaism. In addition to this, all top Maoist leaders had red tikka (a mark of vermilion powder ) on their forehead. Had they been practicing Hindus it would not have seemed unusual. But that was not the case.
 

Prachanda and his colleagues did not celebrate Dashain, the country's largest festival, last month, saying it did not have "a scientific basis". Why did they then put on tikka marks if they did not want to convey a message that they were not abandoning the revolutionary path despite agreements to end the insurgency? Or were they just trying to take undue advantage of the widespread illiteracy that keeps a large number of people credulous? A deceptive, contradictory look can create considerable confusion.
 

Apprehensions that Maoists might use the latest peace deal to advance their agenda in a subtle manner are based on the failed deals of the past. Each of the agreements reached since August 2001 has been made redundant by Maoists. There is, therefore, no guarantee that the rebel leadership will not use this latest opportunity only as tactical move.
 

Knowledgeable sources on security matters claim that top Maoist leaders have told members of their "core group" that what they were doing was in essence a change of strategy alone. It is in this context that three top Maoist leaders have publicly said they would not join the interim government being formed shortly. Instead, they will look for an alternative to be able to form their "own" government that will allow them to implement their progressive and revolutionary agenda.
 

"Indeed the agenda for social-economic transformation has been pushed aside, giving priority only to the political transition," said Devraj Dahal, a political analyst closely watching the recent developments. Issues and positions relating to economic principles and foreign-policy matters remain unclear. The sole aim appears to get to power.
 

Concerns and speculation are not confined to political and economic issues. Analysts studying security aspects of the November 8 agreement are concerned about decisions made on the existing national army, the proposition to absorb Maoist recruits and its possible implications.
 

The pledge to grant citizenship to several million people by making mid-April 1990 the cutoff date is equally worrying. Nepal's porous border with India, where movement of people remains unregulated, make it vulnerable. And the citizenship pledge runs counter to the provisions made even in the controversial 1950 treaty of peace and friendship with India. Provisions of the treaty permit nationals of either country to reside in each other's territories and engage in trade and commerce. It implies that there are Nepali nationals in India and Indian nationals in Nepal. So without an offer of reciprocity, how can Nepal be asked to grant citizenship to Indian nationals who may number in millions?
 

These inconsistent positions and provisions tend to give credence to a perception that Johan Galtung, a Norwegian professor known worldwide, shared with the Kathmandu Post newspaper on November 6: "Your prime minister is not accountable to parliament and the government. He is accountable to Delhi and the United States. It is very unfortunate." Galtung, a frequent visitor, would not have used these stinging words if he had not understood the unfolding scenario here in Nepal.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HK11Df01.html

본문

Korea Times wrote following about the Anti-FTA struggle in the coming weeks and today's "General Strike" by KCTU:

Police Alert Over FTA Demonstration
 

Protesters against a free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the United States are planning to bring in hundreds of chartered buses to form a blockade in downtown Seoul during an upcoming demonstration.

``Anti-FTA activists comprised of farmers, laborers and unionized teachers will participate in three protests planned for Nov. 22, Nov. 29 and Dec. 6,’’ a source close to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said on Tuesday.

He said, ``Their plan is to have at least one thousand buses park in the middle of Seoul to bring traffic in the city to a standstill.’’

According to other union officials, tens of thousands of farmers across the country are scheduled to arrive in central Seoul in rented buses to join the anti-FTA protest. They said that the bus-blockade will be held on one of the three days. The farmers also plan to stage rallies in their regional strongholds during the rest two days.

``Their behind-the-scenes plan, prepared over the past few months, is aimed at pressing the Roh Moo-hyun administration to drop its policy to sign a free trade deal with Washington,’’ said the source.

He said he believes that Chong Wa Dae has already obtained information about their plan and police will certainly hamper the mass bus-parking around Kwanghwamun and City Hall.

While a KCTU spokesperson declined to unveil the joint union’s strategy, sources forecast the scale of the protest to be massive enough to rival the ``June Protest’’ against the then-military dictatorship in 1987.(!!!)

As a warning to the government, the union will stage a preliminary demonstration on Nov. 15.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200611/kt2006111417232468040.htm

Also about today's "General Strike" Korea Herald published this article:

Labor group to strike over bills 
 
 
A radical labor group will go on strike today in protest of government-led labor reform bills which it claims would weaken the rights of workers.
 

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the nation's two umbrella labor unions, said some 150,000 members will participate in the four-hour walkout from 3 p.m.
 

It is demanding the government scrap the bills and draw up laws to secure the rights of temporary workers.
 

"Unless the government and political parties give us proper answers by Nov. 20, we will go on an indefinite strike from Nov. 22 as planned," said Woo Mun-sook, the KCTU spokeswoman.
 

On Sept. 11, representatives from labor unions, employers and the government struck an agreement on a package of labor bills without the participation of the KCTU.
 

Its moderate rival, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, represented the labor side at the National Tripartite Commission negotiations.
 

The breakthrough came as the government accepted the FKTU's proposal to delay two of the most controversial measures - dropping full-time union officers from company payrolls, and permitting multiple trade unions at a single company - for three years until the end of 2009.
 

Calling for immediate implementation of the multiple union system and insisting that the issue of paying full-time union officers should be left to individual companies, the KCTU threatened a mass protest.
 

But the group found difficulties in launching the strike due to a lack of support from its members.
 

With many members against a walkout, less than half of its members - just over 45 percent of its some 700,000 - participated in a vote that lasted from from Oct. 16 to Nov. 3. Amid a lack of participation even in the extended voting held through Tuesday, the KCTU hurriedly decided on a one-day strike.
 

The KCTU also announced that its member taxi drivers' union will provide free rides for students to examination sites for the nation's major college entrance exams tomorrow. The labor group had received strong public criticism for staging a mass strike close to the exam date.

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2006/11/15/200611150009.asp

The semi-official news agency Yonhap reported already yesterday following:

S. Korean labor union to stage strikes on Wednesday

A leading South Korean umbrella labor group said Tuesday it would launch a partial strike(??) this week in protest of government-led labor reform bills and ongoing free trade talks with the United States.

Some 150,000 members from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) are expected to take part in a four-hour strike Wednesday, demanding the government work out appropriate measures by Monday, union officials said.

The union will stage larger-scale, indefinite strikes from Oct. 22 if the government doesn't abide by the union's demands, said Woo Moon-sook, a spokeswoman at the KCTU.

On Sunday, the militant union held a large-scale rally in downtown Seoul, but there were no reports of injuries, arrests or severe traffic congestion. In recent months, public anger has grown over various street protests, which often disrupt traffic in Seoul.

In September, the government agreed with management officials and another major trade union, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), to allow government-owned companies to hire temporary workers during a strike and permit multiple labor unions at a workplace.

The KCTU, which didn't attend the meeting, has opposed the tripartite agreement, saying it is a ploy to break up the labor movement and compromise workers' rights.

The KCTU is also strongly against ongoing Seoul-Washington talks on a free trade agreement, arguing the accord would threaten the livelihoods of many South Korean workers and farmers.

South Korea and the U.S. are set to hold the fifth round on Dec. 4-9 in the U.S. amid pressure for the sides to wrap up the negotiations by March.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20061114/610000000020061114155230E5.html

Voice of People about..

The KCTU's general strike 

And finally KCTU published following yesterday:

KCTU Launches a General Strike!  

PS:

Here 총파업소식(1114)  you can watch a summary (by KCTU TV) of last Sunday's(11.12) workers' rallies in Seoul.