Bourgeois Imperial Atrocities

The Johannesburg YCL will be meeting this evening in the Old Mutual Building, 29 Kerk Street, between Loveday and Harrison, to discuss Amilcar Cabral’s “Weapon of Theory”. Next Wednesday, April 5th at the same time and place, they will be discussing Lenin’s Bourgeois Democracy and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, written in 1919. See link below. In Afghanistan and Iraq killing by US troops goes on in unspeakable ways. See the linked articles, both from US sources. In another part of Iraq, 40 men were shot dead by the US troops in a mosque. These atrocities are being reported daily. The French national strike has been massive. It is against the introduction of an idea that we in South Africa are familiar with – the “dual labour market” of Jabu Moloketi. That plan was thrown out of the ANC National General Council in July last year. No doubt the SA bourgeoisie would make another attempt at forcing this thing upon us, given half a chance. There is a similar plan afoot from the Australian government. With an Aussie sense of mockery, they call “Work Choices”! The idea is only to deny job security to young people, and pay to them less. This would create a cheap, quick-hire-and-fire casual labour force which could then be used to undermine organised labour. Wherever workers are well organised, they will be threatened with replacement, or actually replaced, with young casuals. The workers would be divided and the two parts would be pitted against each other, mothers and fathers against sons and daughters. The fight of the French and of the Australian workers is our fight. Charles Taylor, former leader of Liberia, accused of many crimes, went into exile in Nigeria to allow new elections to take place. This was by virtue of an agreement brokered by the African Union (AU). Now that the US-favoured candidate (Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf) has won the elections, the US has forced Nigeria to agree to hand Taylor over for a show trial. This undermines the credibility of any future AU/NEPAD brokerage attempts. Why would anyone trust them again? It also creates the very “winners and losers” scenario that the deal was designed to avoid. It puts peace at risk again. Charles Taylor has meanwhile gone missing. Do not be surprised if he resurfaces in Liberia with an armed force behind him. Do not be surprised if US and other imperial coalition troops go in, and possibly even white mercenaries, as was the case in Sierra Leone. Links: Bourgeois Democracy and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, Lenin, 1919 (6900 words) The Fifth Afghan War, Brian Cloughley, Counterpunch (2254 words) US Reign of Terror in Iraq, Justin Raimondo, Antiwar (1678 words)