IV508 - May 2017

Between 17 April and 27 May, more than a thousand Palestinian political prisoners detained in Israeli jails stopped eating. This historic hunger strike movement was organized around two slogans: freedom and dignity. The prisoners were demanding improvements in their conditions of detention (access to medical care, increased visiting rights, access to telephones, etc.) and the end of certain practices by the Israeli authorities, such as administrative detention or isolation.

Brazilian President Michel Temer’s conservative government is reeling in the face of an explosive corruption scandal. After a period of confusion and demoralization following the impeachment of Workers Party (PT) President Dilma Rousseff last spring, workers and students appear to have found their voices again and are pouring into the streets to oppose Temer. On April 28, tens of millions of Brazilian workers participated in the largest general strike ever conducted in the Western hemisphere, and a national mobilization dubbed Occupy Brasília—Brazil’s federal capital—on May 24 will be a major show of force against Temer’s neoliberal reforms to Brazil’s pension system.

IVP 508 May 2017 PDF magazine available to download
IVP 508 May 2017 PDF magazine available to download here

“We are likely witnessing the birth of a new feminist movement on an international level. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we have a feminist movement everywhere. The International Women’s Strike was joined by fifty countries, but participation in the strike was uneven among the various countries: Poland, Argentina, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Turkey had among the largest demonstrations. In other countries the strike had great media visibility and we may be witnessing the first steps in the reconstruction of a strong and large anti-capitalist feminist current and mobilization...”. (Cinzia Arruzza in “Feminists are currently leading the way”.)

Over the last two years, the South African Communist Party (SACP) has been growing extremely critical of the ANC rot. After the State of Capture Report by the Public Protector last year, they came out guns blazing on President Jacob Zuma and his corrupt relationship with the Guptas. They openly said he should cut all ties with the Guptas. They were so scathing in their criticism of JZ, that they only stopped short of calling for his resignation at the time. The dropping of three prominent SACP Central Committee members from the cabinet after the 2014 elections seems to have soured relations between the ANC and SACP. The increasing dominance of the Premier League within the Zuma group, after the 2014 elections, is another factor that led to the alienation of the SACP from the JZ inner circle.

Feminists in Mexico and Guatemala working on femicide also use the concept of ‘feminicide’ to draw attention to state complicity in the killings of women.

International Viewpoint in collaboration with ESSF (Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières) is supporting this call.

See also the call issued by Mindanao based movements, “Mindanao (Philippines): Our call on the Emergency Crisis in Marawi City”.

Labour’s General election manifesto launch has boosted Corbyn’s campaign, which has been drawing thousands to rallies across the country. Debate has shifted to a new level, replacing endless ridicule of the Labour leader with a serious discussion on an alternative policy; not to only to end austerity but seeking to reverse it – for the many, not the few.

We need to block rather than support Duterte’s martial law in Mindanao in order to pave the way for a different kind of peace that will not just benefit Mindanaoans but all Filipinos.

Twelve thousand people took part in the demonstration in Brussels yesterday (24 May) against Trump and the world that he stands for and against NATO.