The Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns President Trump’s outrageous attacks upon Venezuela and President Maduro. Trump claims he had the U.S. Navy attack a boat and that eleven Venezuelans were killed. Assuming it so, it is another in a long list of violent attacks by the U.S. against the independent country of Venezuela and its leadership.

The loss of innocent Venezuelan lives with no investigation, evidence, or trial is shameful. It is an act of war. The U.S. needs to seek peace and friendship, not war and intervention.

This time Trump mobilized multiple U.S. Navy missile ships, 4000 marines and sailors, and a nuclear-powered submarine. In response, masses of Venezuelans flocked to join the people’s militias in their communities and at their jobs. The militias are a reserve force of citizen soldiers, the eyes and ears of the revolution, trained under the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela (FANB) to defend their homeland.

While Trump’s attacks are dangerous, the past U.S. provocations and repeated coup attempts against both President Chavez and President Maduro have failed again and again. Instead of hurting the Bolivarian Revolution, the U.S. interventions strengthen it.

The Bolivarian Revolution emerged out of the Venezuelan armed forces, under the leadership of high-ranking military officers sickened by corruption and thievery of the nation’s resources. It spread among working people, farmers and the poor. It is a democratic revolution with broad participation. It is based on the idea that Venezuela belongs to the masses of Venezuela, instead of rich elites who serve U.S. oil companies and Wall Street capitalists.

Ever since Comandante Hugo Chavez won the presidency in 1999, the U.S. has harassed, sanctioned and violently attacked Venezuela. Trump is now intensifying these attacks against the former bus driver and union leader President Nicolas Maduro. The whole world sees the lies and slander of Trump and his media kooks. None of it is worth repeating.

President Maduro continues to build and develop an independent and sovereign Venezuela benefiting the people instead of Wall Street capitalists and U.S. oil corporations. The leadership is provided by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which recently won elections in all but one state. The Bolivarian Revolution has broad support, and people’s participation is reaching an all-time peak due to U.S. threats.

As Venezuela builds a new society, a new economy for the people, with steady economic growth for the past couple of years, we can see what it is that Wall Street fears. As the U.S. empire continues to decline at a rapid pace, Trump fears the example of Venezuela. He can try to bully Maduro and Venezuela’s leadership, but it isn’t working. So now the U.S. is escalating toward missile attacks and threatening an invasion.

The FRSO stands in solidarity with President Maduro, the PSUV and the Bolivarian revolution! No to U.S. attacks and war! Bring the U.S. warships and Marines home now!

#Venezuela #Imperialism #AntiWarMovement #International #Trump #InternationalSolidarity

Resolution in Solidarity with Organized Labor in the Philippines

WHEREAS, legislative and violent attacks on organized labor in the Philippines have resulted in the country being ranked among the world’s deadliest countries for trade unionists, where over 70 workers have been murdered since 2016, and;

WHEREAS, unions and labor activists are frequently targeted with forced union disaffiliation, intimidation, harassment, aggressive surveillance, torture, imprisonment, and killings, and;

WHEREAS, thousands of workers have been arrested on false charges in an attempt to silence their voices, including Anne Krueger, who was working to organize call center workers and hosted two delegations of Communications Workers of America (CWA) members to the Philippines, (1) and; 

WHEREAS, in April 2023, Alex Dolorosa, a union organizer whose work was funded by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), was violently murdered, and no effort has been made by the authorities to investigate his murder, (2) and;

WHEREAS, in the face of legislative attacks, violent repression, and human rights violations committed by the repressive Ferdinand Marcos Jr. regime, unionists in the Philippines continue to organize a vibrant and growing labor movement that merits great respect and solidarity, and;

WHEREAS, the government of the Philippines is by far the largest recipient of US military aid in the Indo-Pacific, having received $1.14 billion in US military aid since 2015, (3) and;

WHEREAS, on May 1st, 2019 the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Congress to end military aid to the government of the Philippines, and; 

WHEREAS, in June, 2020 the AFL-CIO issued a statement calling on Congress to pass the Philippines Human Rights Act (1), which would suspend US military aid to the Philippines, (4) and;

WHEREAS, The Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO, The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), and the AFL-CIO Executive Council have issued resolutions and statements calling for Congressional action to address ongoing human and labor rights violations by the government of the Philippines, and;

WHEREAS, the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO, representing nearly 20,000 union members, believes fundamentally in the power of worker solidarity, and actively supports trade unionists and all people of conscience working to stop attacks on labor and democratic rights.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO reaffirms our solidarity with our sisters and brothers in the labor movement of the Philippines, and;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO demands accountability from the Philippine government and supports international calls for a comprehensive investigation of the killings in the Philippines, and;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO calls for the urgent passage and signing of the Philippines Human Rights Act.

1. https://aflcio.org/about/leadership/statements/congress-should-introduce-and-pass-philippines-human-rights-act

2. https://aflcio.org/about/leadership/statements/2023-george-meany-lane-kirkland-human-rights-philippines-labor-movement

3. https://ph.usembassy.gov/fact-sheet-u-s-philippines-defense-and-security-partnership/http

4. humanrightsph.org/

#MilwaukeeWI #MALC #AFLCIO #Unions #LaborCouncil #Philippines #Labor #InternationalSolidarity

New York, NY – A crowd of over 50 people gathered in front of the United Nations on Saturday, September 24 to rally in solidarity with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who spoke at the UN a couple days before. The group was also protesting the U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe, which they stated are illegal. Despite the sanctions, President Mnangagwa has started making progress toward ending poverty and hunger, as well as implementing various infrastructure projects to help build Zimbabwe and maintain independence from U.S. influence.

The action was called for by the December 12th Movement and included speakers from Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front, as well as other anti-imperialist movements standing up against the United States. All speakers emphasized the importance of independence for Zimbabwe and all African countries that have been colonized by Britain and subjected to U.S. imperialism. A small group of counter-protesters tried to disrupt the rally, but the crowd maintained focus and out-chanted the detractors.

After the rally, the crowd marched down the streets of New York, demanding U.S. hands off Zimbabwe.

#NewYorkCityNY #AntiwarMovement #InternationalSolidarity #antiimperialism #Zimbabwe #Africa

New York, NY – A crowd of over 50 people gathered in front of the United Nations on Saturday, September 24 to rally in solidarity with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who spoke at the UN a couple days before. The group was also protesting the U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe, which they stated are illegal. Despite the sanctions, President Mnangagwa has started making progress toward ending poverty and hunger, as well as implementing various infrastructure projects to help build Zimbabwe and maintain independence from U.S. influence.

The action was called for by the December 12th Movement and included speakers from Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front, as well as other anti-imperialist movements standing up against the United States. All speakers emphasized the importance of independence for Zimbabwe and all African countries that have been colonized by Britain and subjected to U.S. imperialism. A small group of counter-protesters tried to disrupt the rally, but the crowd maintained focus and out-chanted the detractors.

After the rally, the crowd marched down the streets of New York, demanding U.S. hands off Zimbabwe.

#AntiwarMovement #InternationalSolidarity #antiimperialism #Zimbabwe #NewYorkCity #Africa

New York, NY – A crowd of over 50 people gathered in front of the United Nations on Saturday, September 24 to rally in solidarity with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who spoke at the UN a couple days before. The group was also protesting the U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe, which they stated are illegal. Despite the sanctions, President Mnangagwa has started making progress toward ending poverty and hunger, as well as implementing various infrastructure projects to help build Zimbabwe and maintain independence from U.S. influence.

The action was called for by the December 12th Movement and included speakers from Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front, as well as other anti-imperialist movements standing up against the United States. All speakers emphasized the importance of independence for Zimbabwe and all African countries that have been colonized by Britain and subjected to U.S. imperialism. A small group of counter-protesters tried to disrupt the rally, but the crowd maintained focus and out-chanted the detractors.

After the rally, the crowd marched down the streets of New York, demanding U.S. hands off Zimbabwe.

#AntiwarMovement #InternationalSolidarity #antiimperialism #Zimbabwe #NewYorkCity #Africa

New York, NY – A crowd of over 50 people gathered in front of the United Nations on Saturday, September 24 to rally in solidarity with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who spoke at the UN a couple days before. The group was also protesting the U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe, which they stated are illegal. Despite the sanctions, President Mnangagwa has started making progress toward ending poverty and hunger, as well as implementing various infrastructure projects to help build Zimbabwe and maintain independence from U.S. influence.

The action was called for by the December 12th Movement and included speakers from Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front, as well as other anti-imperialist movements standing up against the United States. All speakers emphasized the importance of independence for Zimbabwe and all African countries that have been colonized by Britain and subjected to U.S. imperialism. A small group of counter-protesters tried to disrupt the rally, but the crowd maintained focus and out-chanted the detractors.

After the rally, the crowd marched down the streets of New York, demanding U.S. hands off Zimbabwe.

#NewYorkNY #InternationalSolidarity #Zimbabwe #Africa

Chicago, IL – I just returned from eight days in Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, where the capital, Manila, is located. For many years, the movement for national democracy in the Philippines has asked for international solidarity, including human rights defenders to aid them in their struggle for economic and political rights. The presence of people from other countries can help diminish the violence of the Philippine military and national police against the movement. In addition, as national elections approach on May 9 there has been a rise in human rights abuses, and so the need for international solidarity is more pressing.

In 2016, Filipinos elected Rodrigo Duterte president. I was there just after his election. He campaigned promising to bring an end to the rule of the corrupt, wealthy elite that have run the country since independence from the U.S. occupation in 1946. Instead, he proceeded to intensify the repression against the movements of farmers, indigenous communities, workers, students and professionals who he claimed to champion. Hundreds of activists have been killed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), including priests and human rights lawyers.

War on drugs: War on the poor

Duterte also unleashed a “war on drugs” that was supposed to target the elites, including the four generals he identified in a campaign speech that he said were responsible for the flow of drugs coming into the country. In truth, it has been “a war on the poor,” as reported by INVESTIGATE PH ( https://www.investigate.ph/media/second-report) of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP).

Six years later, over 30,000 drug users and small-time dealers – or people that the police claimed were users or dealers – have been murdered by the military or paramilitaries. The effect has been to create a climate of fear from a police and military occupation in the whole country, very much like that which Black and Latino communities have faced in U.S. cities for 50 years of our “war on drugs.”

Of course, the Philippines has suffered under American imperialist domination since the U.S. intervened against Spain in 1899. Like in Cuba and Puerto Rico, the Spanish were losing, and the U.S. saw an opportunity to become an imperialist power in the Pacific. The U.S. military waged a bloody war that lasted three years and resulted in the deaths of a million Filipinos. U.S. imperialism has never left the islands, despite granting independence in 1946.

The Philippines is a land rich in agricultural and mineral wealth, but because of their leaders selling them out to foreign investors, they have failed to develop their own economy. That’s why 6000 people leave the Philippines every day to work outside the country. The biggest landowners in the Philippines are U.S. corporations – Dole, for example.

The U.S. mass media – owned by the same corporate class that determines economic developments in the Philippines – reports on some of Duterte’s human rights abuses, including his attacks on opposition in the press. But they almost never report on the military carrying out massacres of trade unionists, peasants, or indigenous activists who dare to organize against the injustices facing the people.

Duterte: Time’s up

Because of the one-term limit in their 1986 constitution, Duterte’s presidency is coming to an end, but he is hoping his successors will be his daughter as vice president and Bong Bong Marcos, the son of the old dictator, as president. He needs them in office as an insurance policy.

As Tinay Palabay of Karapatan, the leading human rights watchdog in the country, explained to me, “Duterte loses immunity July 1. We are preparing cases for the International Criminal Court (ICC). Also in the UN, July will see three reports on human rights in the Philippines: by Michelle Bachelet, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR); a Universal Periodic Review before the UN Human Rights Council; and an International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights treaty body review.” The three reports of the INVESTIGATE PH were submitted to the UN OHCHR and at the ICC.

Palabay also noted that beyond the national democratic movement, “The anti-Marcos vote won’t settle for a BBM (Bong Bong Marcos) victory in the Philippines.” In other words, if the Marcos/Duterte slate wins, there will be a great increase in resistance to the new regime.

Electoral struggle/mass struggle: Basic demands for human rights and peace in the Philippines

Running against the Marcos/Duterte slate is Leni Robredo, the current vice president, and Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan. Leni and Kiko are also supported by 1Sambayan, a broad coalition of democratic forces banded together to pursue a common cause. Running on the senatorial slate of 1Sambayan are leading activists from the mass movements, including Congressman Neri Colmenares, who was detained and tortured under the martial law regime of dictator Ferdinand Marcos (1972 – 1986); and Elmer “Ka Bong” Labog, president of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), the most important Labor Center in the country. Kilusang Mayo Uno means May First Movement.

I was able to talk with Amirah Lidasan, a Muslim woman activist from the Moro nationality on the island of Mindanao, running for congress as a third nominee of Bayan Muna (People First) Partylist. It is one of the partylists under MAKABAYAN Bloc (Patriotic Bloc) with different member partylists including Anakpawis, which translates to “toiling masses.”

For more than 50 years, the massive national democratic movement has led heroic efforts by the Filipinos to free themselves from U.S. domination, from foreign corporations cruelly oppressing them, and to demand genuine agrarian reform – “land to the tiller” as Antonio Flores expressed it. Flores is popularly known as Ka Tonying (Comrade Tonying). He is chair of Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), the farm workers union. It is well known that 70% of farmers in the Philippines are landless. While employment statistics suggest that the Philippines is no longer a farm economy, but a service economy, Ka Tonying said, “Farmers don’t see it that way.”

Red-tagging

Under Duterte, the AFP and PNP are carrying out more and more brazen attacks on organizers. Their targets include the KMU. In March 2021, they killed nine trade unionists in what has been called Bloody Sunday.

They have also targeted the officers of the KMU. Last week, I went to meet with KMU National Capital Region Secretary General Ed Cubelo. In March 2020, Ed was “red-tagged.” Red-tagging is what it sounds like. When authorities or anonymous actors put up vinyl banners (called tarpaulins or tarps), use spray paint, or a small picket line to accuse an activist, an elected official, or anyone of being a communist or a soldier of the New People’s Army (NPA). The purpose of red-tagging, or “terror-tagging” is to intimidate those with the courage to speak out.

In October 2021, Facebook accounts were created accusing him of membership in the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the NPA. Then on December 13, 2021, he received death threats.

Last month, the PNP escalated. The barangay (neighborhood organization with elected officers who have roles to administer schools, fire, police, parks) held a job fair on the street in front of his house in Metro Manila. Two PNP officers entered his house without permission. As a result, brother Cubelo is no longer living at home.

On February 23, another massacre was carried out near the city of Davao on the island of Mindanao, where I visited in 2016. Known as the New Bataan Five, two teachers, a health worker, and two drivers were murdered. Most were part of the Lumad, the indigenous people of the southern Philippines.

In both this case and that of Bloody Sunday, people in the area said there was no encounter between two armed groups. These were just two more of the long string of murders carried out by a military funded and backed by the Pentagon.

Given the murders of hundreds of activists, in addition to 30,000 of the urban poor in the past six years, there is good cause for Filipino activists to be very concerned when they get red-tagged or terror-tagged. The real source of terror in the Philippines is of course Malacañang Palace, the residence of the president.

I get red-tagged

Sunday morning, April 10, at 1 a.m., men identifying themselves as CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) hung banners in front of the hotel where I was staying in Quezon City, part of Metro Manila.

The four feet by five feet vinyl banners had a full color Getty Images photo of me when I spoke at the mass rally in Manila in July 2016. Held on the occasion of President Duterte’s first State Of the Nation Address (SONA), the People’s SONA is an annual affair. I spoke as a representative of the largest international solidarity delegation – over 300 people – who were there among the 30,000 in the rally.

The banners accused me of interfering in the affairs of the Philippines and called me a “Communist Terrorist Ally.” There were more of the same banners hung at a nearby human rights office housed in the National Council of Churches building.

The next day, a missionary worker woke to find banners with the same messages and her face hanging in front of her home. She had been with me in some meetings during my eight-day visit.

The mission of CIDG is to combat organized crime groups. It’s probably not a coincidence that their offices are near where I was staying and are housed in the same building as the NTF ELCAC, Duterte’s National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict. This body was created by Duterte to systematize red-tagging and link up police investigation work to stop protest movements more effectively.

Solidarity is not a crime

Of course, the missionary and I don’t face the prospects of being killed or tortured. I remember in 2010 when FBI agents raided my home and six other homes and an office of anti-war and international solidarity activists. They alleged the Midwest Antiwar 23 had information about or were providing material support to “foreign terrorist organizations” in Palestine and Colombia. Justice Department prosecutors also brought up the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army. The U.S. put them arbitrarily on the State Department list of foreign terrorist organizations after 9/11.

We were subpoenaed to appear before a kangaroo court called a federal grand jury. Each of us said then that we would never talk to the FBI or the grand jury. From files left behind in one of the raided houses, we know that the FBI and the grand jury wanted us to tell them who we knew in Palestine and Colombia. In those countries, like in the Philippines, anyone we named would face torture or death, not just prison time.

The Antiwar 23 all took the position we would rather face prison time than contribute to the torture or murder of a freedom fighter.

We said then that solidarity is not a crime. And today again, that must continue to be our stand.

Finally, U.S. imperialism, not us, is who is interfering in the Philippines.

Long Live International Solidarity!

#ChicagoIL #Philippines #InternationalSolidarity #Duterte #Manila #Asia

To: National Democratic Front of the Philippines From: Freedom Road Socialist Organization On the passing of Ka Fidel Agcaoili

Dear comrades It is with great sadness we received the news of Ka Fidel Agcaoili’s passing. The leadership and members of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) extend our heartfelt condolences to his many comrades, his friends and family. Ka Fidel was an outstanding example of what a communist should be. He was among those in the forefront of the titanic struggle to liberate the Philippines from the evils of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism. Great were the contributions of Ka Fidel and he will be missed by many the world over.

Ka Fidel was a true proletarian internationalist who took a keen interest in developments in the struggles of working and oppressed people around the globe. Leaders of our organization had the good fortune to meet with him on many occasions and we greatly valued his keen insights and analyses of developments in the United States, a topic he was extremely knowledgeable of and that no doubt was enriched by a stay in California as a young man, where he was a participant in the peoples movement.

Mao Zedong’s statement on the death of revolutionaries, those like Ka Fidel who devote the whole of their lives to serving the people, is entirely applicable when he stated that the loss is “weightier than Mount Tai.”

We will miss Ka Fidel, and on this sad occasion we vow to strengthen our efforts to strengthen the bonds of solidarity by the people of the U.S. and the Philippines, as we fight to defeat our common enemy – the monopoly capitalists.

With communist greetings, Mick Kelly, For the Standing Committee of the Central Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization

#UnitedStates #Philippines #InternationalSolidarity #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganizationFRSO #NationalDemocraticFrontOfThePhilippinesNDFP #KaFidelAgcaoili #Asia

The popular outrage that erupted a week ago in the United States after the cold-blooded murder of 47-year-old African-American worker George Floyd by police in Minneapolis is continuing against the state repression and the brutal force used by the police. Hundreds of thousands of Americans took the streets over the weekend in more than 80 major cities, in two-thirds of the country’s states, to protest state barbarism and racist violence, of the repressive forces.

Despite the outcry over the 47-year-old’s death, the government is escalating threats to the masses and offering “more military means if governors and mayors need it and cannot control the situation”. One more time the capitalists and their governments prove that the life of the ordinary people has no value for the capitalists.

The organizations of the working class must be now in the forefront of the struggle for social justice, equality, against state oppression. The WFTU calls every trade union, every trade unionist who respects itself to support the struggle of the people in USA. We demand the immediate end of police violence. The unemployed and the poor must be supported. The murderers of the Afro-Americans must be punished.

The WFTU calls its affiliated organizations in every corner of the world to participate in the WFTU Campaign by taking pictures in groups, submit solidarity statements to the U.S. embassies and take any support initiatives they can.

The WFTU Secretariat

#World #Labor #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #InternationalSolidarity #WorldFederationOfTradeUnionsWFTU #Antiracism #WFTU #MinneapolisUprising

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following appeal that was initiated by the German Communist Party (DKP), Communist Party Of Peoples Of Spain (CPPS), and the Communist Party Of Venezuela (CPV). Freedom Road Socialist Organization is among the signers.

The Communist and Workers' parties that suscribe the present APPEAL declare:

1. The serious international situation which has come from the unstoppable global capitalist crisis – now expressed as a health emergency that spreads throughout so many countries – requires strong and decisive social and political action that puts the needs of the working class, of the different people's of the world and of human kind above everything else.

2. The insufficient scientific resources, as well as the robbery of public health services, carried out by the capitalist countries under neo-liberal adjustment policies in the interest of the world's large monopolistic capital, which are imposed by the EU, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, etc, bring with them greater difficulties concerning the urgent and much needed measures which should be taken immediately to defend both the health and the lives of the working class and the people.

3. The degradation suffered by the capitalist societies, which are based on individual self-interest, consumerism and social Darwinism, adds even greater difficulties to efforts to deal with this health crisis, that requires values of solidarity, sharing and social justice: the values present in all of our revolutionary political projects aimed at socialism-communism.

4. Currently, capitalism takes advantage of the current health crisis as a perfect alibi to unleash a new attack against both the working class and all peoples, strengthening financial capital and monopolies and adding new cuts to salaries and to the rights of the working class. The inter-imperialist conflicts contribute to the spiraling rise of violence and social predation that, at the end, will be paid for by people and workers alike.

5. The international working class, along with the people, must react to this situation – today under the control of world oligarchies – for the health emergency will bring short time terrible consequences. It is necessary to show further evidence of the present historical wreckage of capitalism at its imperialist stage, as well as the urgent need for socialist construction in order to face the beginning of a new historical stage so much claimed by the current and extraordinary development of the productive forces.

6. That is why we send out a massive appeal in order to start as many actions as possible so that the peoples and the working class raise their flags of struggle.

a. For the complete stop of imperialist blockades imposed against Cuba, Venezuela, Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Nicaragua.

b. For the immediate end of imperialist military aggressions in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Mali, Iraq, Libya.

c. For the immediate end of occupations and for the recovery of the national sovereignty of Palestine, Puerto Rico and the struggle of the people of Western Sahara for self-determination.

d. For the immediate end to the repression of social movements in Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras.

e. For the right of the working class and the working people both from the cities and rural areas, to fully exercise their freedom and union organization, to collective bargaining, to strike, job stability, and sufficient wages to live with dignity.

f. For the socialization of the large and strategic means of production, financial and essential services for society, under workers, peasants and popular control.

7. Finally, we make an APPEAL to advance in the coordination of all the workers', peasants and popular anti-imperialist struggles and forces in a Global Front, capable of organizing political and social mobilization for the defense of people´s sovereignty, against imperialist war, and against all blockades; for an international social order for the benefit of social majorities – for the whole of mankind – , under the conditions given by the current development of productive forces, able, as it is well known today, to cover all social demands.

The organizations hereby signed up to this APPEAL will work together to add up our strength to, and to go further, in the above mentioned aims.

FOR THE WHOLE OF THE HUMAN KIND

FOR THE WORKING CLASS

FOR PEACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

FOR SOCIALISM AND COMMUNISM!!!

SIGNATURES SOLIDNET PARTIES:

1 COMMUNIST PARTY OF ARGENTINA

2 COMMUNIST PARTY OF ARMENIA

3 COMMUNIST PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

4 COMMUNIST PARTY OF AZERBAIDJAN

5 DEMOCRATIC PROGRESSIVE TRIBUNE (BAHREIN)

6 COMMUNIST PARTY OF BANGLADESH

7 COMMUNIST PARTY OF BELGIUM

8 COMMUNIST PARTY OF BOLIVIA

9 BRAZILIAN COMMUNIST PARTY

10 COMMUNIST PARTY OF BRAZIL

11 COMMUNIST PARTY OF BRITAIN

12 NEW COMMUNIST PARTY OF BRITAIN

13 COMMUNIST PARTY OF CANADA

14 COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHILE

15 COLOMBIAN COMMUNIST PARTY

16 SOCIALIST WORKER'S PARTY OF CROATIA

17 COMMUNIST PARTY OF CUBA

18 COMMUNIST PARTY OF BOHEMIA AND MORAVIA

19 COMMUNIST PARTY IN DENMARK

20 FORCE OF THE REVOLUTION (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC)

21 COMMUNIST PARTY OF ECUADOR

22 EGYPTIAN COMMUNIST PARTY

23 COMMUNIST PARTY OF FINLAND

24 UNIFIED COMMUNIST PARTY OF GEORGIA

25 GERMAN COMMUNIST PARTY

26 HUNGARIAN WORKER'S PARTY

27 TUDEH PARTY OF IRAN

28 COMMUNIST PARTY OF KURDISTAN-IRAQ

29 IRAQUI COMMUNIST PARTY

30 COMMUNIST PARTY OF IRELAND

31 THE WORKER'S PARTY OF IRELAND

32 COMMUNIST PARTY OF ISRAEL

33 ITALIAN COMMUNIST PARTY

34 JORDANIAN COMMUNIST PARTY

35 SOCIALIST PARTY (LITHUANIA)

36 COMMUNIST PARTY OF MALTA

37 POPULAR SOCIALIST PARTY – NATIONAL POLITICAL ASSOCIATION (MÉXICO)

38 NEPAL COMMUNIST PARTY

39 NEW COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE NETHERLANDS

40 COMMUNIST PARTY OF NORWAY

41 COMMUNIST PARTY OF PAKISTAN

42 PALESTINIAN COMMUNIST PARTY

43 PALESTINIAN PEOPLE'S PARTY

44 PARTY OF THE PEOPLE (PANAMA)

45 PARAGUAYAN COMMUNIST PARTY

46 PERUVIAN COMMUNIST PARTY

47 PHILIPPINE COMMUNIST PARTY (PKP-1930)

48 ROMANIAN COMMUNIST PARTY

49 ROMANIAN SOCIALIST PARTY

50 COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

51 COMMUNISTS OF SERBIA

52 NEW COMMUNIST PARTY OF YUGOSLAVIA

53 SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY

54 COMMUNIST PARTY OF SPAIN

55 COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE PEOPLES OF SPAIN

56 COMMUNISTS OF CATALONIA

57 SUDANESE COMMUNIST PARTY

58 COMMUNIST PARTY OF SRI-LANKA

59 COMMUNIST PARTY OF SWAZILAND

60 SYRIAN COMMUNIST PARTY

61 SYRIAN COMMUNIST PARTY (UNIFIED)

62 COMMUNIST PARTY USA

63 COMMUNIST PARTY OF UKRAINE

64 UNION OF COMMUNISTS OF UKRAINE

65 COMMUNIST PARTY OF URUGUAY

66 COMMUNIST PARTY OF VENEZUELA

OTHER PARTIES AND SIGNING ORGANIZATIONS:

1 PARTIDO IZQUIERDA COSTARRICENSE

2 COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC

3 RED ROJA (SPAIN)

4 INICIATIVA COMUNISTA (SPAIN)

5 UNIÓN PROLETARIA (SPAIN)

6 ASAMBLEA PARA LA DEMOCRACIA Y LA SOBERANIA (RASMIA) (SPAIN)

7 PÔLE DE RENAISSANCE COMMUNISTE EN FRANCE

8 COMITÉ INTERNATIONALISTE POUR LA SOLIDARITÉ DE CLASSE (FRANCE)

9 AGORA GALIZA – UP (GALIZA-SPAIN)

10 UNION DO POVO GALEGO (GALIZA-SPAIN)

11 FRENTE POPULARE (ITALY)

12 CONVERGENZA SOCIALISTA (ITALY)

13 VÍA DEMOCRÁTICA (MOROCCO)

14 PARTIDO DE LOS COMUNISTAS (MÉXICO)

15 FRENTE POPULAR PARA LA LIBERACIÓN DE PALESTINA

16 FRENTE DEMOCRÁTICO PARA LA LIBERACIÓN DE PALESTINA

17 PARTITO COMUNISTA SVIZZERA

18 PARTEI DER ARBEIT DER SCHWEIZ PdAS – PSP

19 FREEDOM ROAD SOCIALIST ORGANIZATION (USA)

#World #International #CapitalismAndEconomy #Healthcare #InternationalSolidarity #Socialism #CommunistParty #COVID19

According to a report from New China News Agency (Xinhua), “President Xi Jinping led the national mourning, which paid tribute to martyrs who sacrificed their lives fighting the outbreak and fellow Chinese who died.” Xi also serves as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China.

In addition to public mourning ceremonies, the report stated “Subway trains in big cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, briefly suspended operations. Passengers stood up in subway cars. Station staff observed a moment of silence on the train platforms.”

Xinghua noted, “As domestic transmission has basically been curbed, China is putting more efforts to guard against imported cases, get people back to work and provide humanitarian aid to other countries and international organizations battling the pandemic.”

Socialist China is sending 1000 ventilators to New York City to help people struck by COVID 19.

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THE WFTU STANDS SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH WORKERS AND THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD AGAINST THE ATTACKS AT THE EXPENSE OF WORKERS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

The World Federation of Trade Unions, its 100 million members and friends of militant workers around the world, we express our internationalist solidarity and support to workers and the peoples of all countries affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

What is once more reaffirmed is that in difficult times, such as during extreme natural phenomena, wars, disasters, pandemics, it is the workers and the poor people who are at the forefront of danger. The workers are required to pay the price of the pandemic’s effects on both their health and their working rights, so that large business groups, multinationals and big companies can ensure their profitability.

From the first days of the spread of the Coronavirus up to the present day, where many countries register thousands of cases and victims, violations of rights, redundancies, restrictions on trade union rights and freedoms by governments and employers have not stopped. They take advantage of the pandemic in order to generalize anti-labor measures and tactics.

Thousands of layoffs have taken place since the beginning of the month in sectors where the turnover has fallen due to the pandemic, as illustrated by Greece’s example, which measures 41.000 layoffs in the first half of March. In Austria, in March, 74.000 workers lost their jobs, in Sweden the automotive industry announced 20.000 suspensions. Still other businesses have been generalizing flexible working hours and forcing workers into compulsory leaves, as denounced by unions in Europe, France and Latin America, in countries such as Panama and Venezuela. Airlines like the colossal Turkish Airlines, Imperia, Lufthansa and Emirates have forced tens of thousands of workers to unpaid leaves, threatening them with layoffs, as did travel agencies, hotels and tourism companies in general.

Many businesses, as workers in Italy denounce, continue to operate normally without the necessary protection measures against the Coronavirus for workers who went on strike across the country last week. In Peru, mining companies also force workers to work without any security protocol. In Serbia, in Turkey, the trade unions in transport, in metal, in other sectors demand the implementation of health and safety measures in the workplaces.

In Portugal, a few days ago, the dockworkers of the port of Lisbon who went on strike because of the lack of basic protection measures, were called to work after the government announced a civil requisition.

On the other hand, in businesses where turnover is rising sharply due to the Coronavirus pandemic, such as in Supermarkets etc, they are forcing workers to intensify their work. These workers are suffering exhaustion and occupational “accidents” and diseases. These “accidents” are often not even recorded by the Labor Inspection, which has been closed under these circumstances, instead of being present and carrying out intensive inspections. Also employees are denied leaves and day-offs, there is no information about COVID-19 cases in their workplace, the employers hide such cases so that a large number of staff is not quarantined.

In countries such as Palestine, measures for workers whose workplaces were closed due to the Coronavirus are summed up in a miserable allowance while Israeli forces continue to violate rights and also murder Palestinian workers. In Jordan and elsewhere there is growing concern about the unsecured workers and those who work in the informal sector, who have been found with no income and are not entitled to allowances as it is the case for the long-term unemployed workers in many countries.

In India, trade unions condemn the government’s attitude of leaving the masses of workers helpless, without financial support, while showing tragic shortcomings in the necessary material to deal with the Coronavirus, such as medical ventilators.

In the USA, in New York alone, 21.000 unemployment applications, a record number, have been submitted in just one day.

In Africa, COVID-19 outbreaks are on the rise in more and more countries of the continent, with workers in South Africa, the second-most-affected country, calling for protection measures for the most vulnerable groups of the population, and those already suffering from other diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis.

The policies of the vast majority of African governments, along with multinationals and monopolies, are responsible for the serious survival problems of workers and the popular strata, as well as for the tragic shortcomings in health systems and in securing access to clean drinking water and suitable housing for the populations.

The rights of workers who are at the frontline of the struggle against the Coronavirus, are also being violated. We are referring to doctors and other health-care staff, whose work is intensified to the fullest extent due to under-staffing and under-functioning of public health structures. Their risk of exposure to Coronavirus is high, they are required to work even if they themselves are ill, there are no protection measures for vulnerable groups among them. In countries such as Italy, where around 300 hospital beds correspond to 100.000 persons, the Health Workers are called upon to decide which patients to save and who to leave without the necessary medical care.

Today, in the face of the pandemic, and with a steady stream of aid to large companies, with billions being offered to them in various countries, all lost jobs must be restored and secured, without any conditions. All the changes in working relationships that employers have made with the cover of governments must be taken back.

The big trade union family of the WFTU, its trade unions members and friends on the 5 Continents, we are not passive observers – we continue our action to protect the lives and working rights of workers!

Under these difficult circumstances, we find the right ways to keep our workers informed and continue to play our role. We must continue our daily struggle to defend our rights without “discounts” and compromises.

Governments are announcing measures against the spread of the Coronavirus, putting forward the personal responsibility. However, it is revealed that gathering restriction measures and information campaigns for the implementation of personal hygiene measures cannot hide the inadequacy of public health systems to meet the requirements of hospitalization and health-care, due to the Coronavirus. Inadequacy that results from the deliberate undermining of all governments (both social- democratic and neo-conservative).

– The governments have the primary responsibility to provide public, free, high quality and modern Health services.

– The governments have the responsibility to stop the speculation of the capitalists.

– The governments have the responsibility to ban the dismissals and the cut of salaries and working rights.

In these difficult times, we are strengthening internationalism and solidarity among the workers of the world. We salute the initiative of Cuba to send 52 specialized doctors to Italy to help treat the pandemic.

No one must feel alone!

We are fighting to defend our health and our rights!

We are fighting for a system that prioritizes human beings and their needs and utilizes the scientific achievements to deal with a pandemic, or other catastrophic events in a timely and planned manner.

We once again congratulate the workers who continue in these difficult times to move the cogs of life, producing food, medicine, transportation, communication, services, even at the risk of their own lives.

LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY

THE SECRETARIAT

#World #International #CapitalismAndEconomy #Healthcare #PeoplesStruggles #InternationalSolidarity #WorldFederationOfTradeUnionsWFTU #WFTU #COVID19