News from around the world

The trial of seven Russian antifascists accused of terrorist offences ended today in Penza, western Russia.

The following statement, published on 30 January 2020, explains the Moroccan judiciary’s threat to close the revolutionary socialist newspaper and website, al-Mounadil-a (“the Militant”). As the al-Mounadil-a editorial board suggests below, such threats are parts of a wider attack by the state against the the left and progressive forces in the country.

While the historic strike movement at the SNCF has been going on for almost 60 days, senators and the SNCF are hand in hand to try to break this movement by any means necessary.

Russian Socialist Movement’s Statement on the Proposed Constitutional Reforms and the Change of Russian Government

“Daniel was profoundly internationalist. (…) [He] ensured the historical continuity of open, non-dogmatic, revolutionary Marxism and adaptation to the changes of the new era, with the perspective of revolutionary transformation of society always in his sights.”

Emmanuel Macron repeated it in his New Year speech: he wants to push through his pension reform. Against all the arguments of common sense, he decides alone. The balance of forces is the only possible language with this government. Strikes and demonstrations will therefore be essential.

Trump’s assassination of Iranian General Oassim Suleimani on Iraqi soil is an escalation of his desire to destroy the Iranian regime. Since he came to office Trump has plotted to pull the U.S. government out of the nuclear agreement signed by several European countries and Iran. Following that he has imposed sanctions that have made the average Iranian civilian’s life much more difficult. Given that a quarter of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, on Iran’s shore, U.S. military maneuvers there also inflamed tensions between Washington and Tehran.

After French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe’s announcement on Wednesday, 11 December – which only confirmed what we already knew about the attack on pensions, and despite the continuation of strikes and the success of the mobilization day on 17 December – the government is putting on the pressure to put a stop to the strike movement by the end of the week. Adopting belligerent and contemptuous postures – which only goes to show how they are vacillating after this week’s resignation of national pension administrator Jean-Paul Delevoye– President Emmanuel Macron and Philippe do not know what to do. We must figure out how to take advantage of their indecision!

The Alliance for Economic Democracy (AED) is a concerned group of trade unionists, farmers, fishers, students, academics and activists who uphold the value of economic rights and justice in public policymaking. We wish to draw your attention to several key issues regarding the proposed Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact (MCC), which are not adequately represented in public discussion at this time, yet crucial to the wellbeing and security of people in Sri Lanka.

Between 800,000 (according to the police) and 1.5 million protesters (according to the CGT – France’s largest trade union federation), the first day of a strike against the government’s neoliberal pension “reform” was particularly impressive. In Paris and many regional cities, this was the largest street mobilization we have seen since the massive working-class movement during the winter of 1995, which bodes well for the future. In many cities, police tried, but failed, to disrupt trade union marches: the demonstrators were determined to march, despite police provocations and violence.