IV446 - March 2012

On March 15, 2011, a few dozen young Syrians dared to demonstrate right in the centre of the old city of Damascus, infected by the spirit of hope that had been ignited throughout the Arab world by the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions; a small demonstration of courageous young people demanding freedom for the Syrian people, who had been subjected to a regime of terror for more than 40 years

IV 446 March 2012 PDF for download

We publish here the official founding statement of the “Watan Coalition”, which regroups several Syrian organizations.

The terms of the debate on the future of the Chinese political system are often defined starting from three different perspectives: some believe in a democratic transition impelled by movements of citizens and intellectuals [1], others believe in a popular uprising legitimated by social inequalities and corruption [2], finally some believe in a reform guided slowly by the élites of the Communist Party [3]. These three perspectives embody different visions of the roots of the current tensions and relationship of forces in contemporary China.

Interview with Sonia Mitralia, a founding member of the Initiative of Greek Women against the Debt and the Austerity Measures, as well as of the Greek Committee against the Debt.

Tens of thousands of students and their supporters marched in major Quebec cities yesterday, March 18, in opposition to the Charest government’s promise to impose a 75% increase in post-secondary education fees over the next five years. In Montréal some 30,000 “former, present and future university students” responded to the call of the Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (CLASSE). [4] The march stretched for more than 1.5 kilometres, according to Le Devoir. Thousands more marched in Quebec City, Sherbrooke and Alma.

The Syrian army moved into the district of Amro Baba in Homs on March 1 after having surrounded and bombarded it for a month. The resistance of the population was immediate, all over the country.
The oligarchy in power presented the destruction of Amro Baba as a great victory against “the terrorists”. For his part, Colonel Riad Alassad, who deserted from the Syrian army and took refuge in Turkey, spoke in the name the Free Syrian Army of “a tactical retreat”. Both sides were lying.

It’s a red alert now.The government of Saudi Arabia currently owns 1.6 million hectares (ha) of land in Sudan and Indonesia. In Madagascar around 1.3 million ha were leased, bought or transferred to private corporations of South Korea.

THE SETTLEMENT OF contractual issues involving International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 21 in Longview, Washington also ended the immediate plans by Occupy Oakland Labor and other West Coast Occupy groups for a mobilization in defense of the Longview workers. But relevant questions are still posed about how this settlement occurred, and how the Occupy movement connects with more militant segments of the workers’ movement.

Tens of thousands took to the streets of Colombo and other cities and towns, in the last week of February and into the following week. There were two oddities about these demonstrations of “peoples’ power” – as some government politicians described them.