International Workers’ Day and the socialist alternative to austerity and barbarism

May Day (International Workers’ Day) is an opportunity for celebrating the militant internationalist traditions of the working class movement, converging with the explosive struggles of today. 1st May this year is as a key date in the calendar of living struggles and movements. The CWI believes that these struggles - from Greece to Chile, Nigeria to Tunisia - not only represent the inevitable explosive response to the current crisis. They also signal the emergence of a social force capable of reducing to rubble the plans of the international ruling class to pauperise workers and young people. The organised working class, mobilised in the fight for a genuinely socialist alternative, can transform society.

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Below, we publish a document on world and European perspectives which will be proposed by the CWI’s International Secretariat to a meeting of the European Bureau in late April. Following discussion and amendments at the meeting, the final version of the document will be published on socialistworld.net after the meeting.

The main lines of the CWI analysis in the document, “Capitalist chaos – class struggle sharpens”, adopted by the International Executive Committee, in January 2012, have been broadly confirmed. The processes of revolution and counter-revolution that have shaken North Africa and the Arab world, we have analysed in other material (see www.socialistworld.net). These continuing events are certain to impact on the international situation.

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CWI’s Zhang Shujie speaks out at hearing in Sweden’s parliament

“I was warned that I could get several years in prison for ‘contact with a banned organisation’ and for ‘crimes related to national security’ ”. Zhang Shujie, a socialist from China, explained his ordeal at a hearing at the Swedish parliament on Thursday. He and subsequent speakers underlined how repression in China increased sharply early in 2011, when the regime was alarmed by the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia.

By Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI) reporters

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By CWI reporters

The 12th National Congress of the United Socialist Party (CWI Sri Lanka) took place in Colombo on October 8 & 9 in extremely difficult circumstances.

Since the end of the war in 2009 President Mahinda Rajapaksa has moved towards creating a dictatorial regime. Repression has in many ways been increased and the police and military play a key role in the running of the country.

As preparations were being made on October 7 the police visited the Congress venue and questioned whether the USP had permission to hold the meeting. They said that the meeting would be deemed illegal given that Council elections were also being held in many parts of the country on October 8.

Despite this intimidation the meeting went ahead with delegates travelling from right across the island. Many delegates travelled by bus for more than 10 hours.

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The world economy and inter-imperialist relations

This week, CWI supporters from over 30 countries are attending a CWI Summer School in Belgium. As well as comrades from across western and eastern Europe and Russia, visitors are attending from North America, Latin America, Nigeria, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Middle East. Jacinta Chavulak and Adam Hemsley are attending on behalf of the Socialist Party in Australia.

Below Alison Hill gives a summary of a plenary discussion on world perspectives.

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Interview with Socialist Party MEP Paul Murphy

Paul Murphy, Socialist Party MEP for Dublin will shortly attempt to sail to Gaza as part of the ‘Freedom Flotilla II’ to try to deliver humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza strip. Last year’s ‘Freedom Flotilla I’ was brutally attacked in international waters by the Israeli Defence Forces, with 9 human rights activists killed.

Below we publish an interview with Paul about the Flotilla and the situation in the Middle East.

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Workers’ struggle around the globe

Fighting to end capitalism and its crisis, the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI) sends warm May Day greetings to workers, youth and the oppressed around the globe.

May Day, the traditional day for celebrating the international struggle of the workers’ movement, this year takes place against the background of the revolutionary wave in the Middle East and Maghreb countries. This has shown the mighty strength of the working class starting to put its stamp on these developments. But also other countries, the US with the tremendous developments in Wisconsin and the mass movements for example in Greece and Portugal, show that the new wave of cutbacks is being met with growing resistance.

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Thesis of the European bureau of the CWI

At the beginning of April, leading members of the CWI from Europe, as well as from Pakistan and Israel, met to discuss developments internationally, and in Europe in particular. The following thesis was discussed there and adjusted according to the discussion.

The World Congress took place just over three months ago and yet the world situation has been changed dramatically since then by the revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa. This was followed by the natural disaster of the earthquake and huge tsunami in Japan. These have served to reinforce the impression, created by the enduring economic crisis, of a world in turmoil. The danger of a meltdown in the nuclear reactors – and the repercussions of this in a possible Chernobyl-type radiation fallout – has also served to underline the irresponsibility of capitalism over the environment. The building of nuclear plants on known earthquake fault lines, with the escape of radioactive particles and the dangers of the terrible legacy of nuclear waste left to future generations, has horrified the world.

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Socialist Party wins two parliament seats!

The general election in Ireland was historic but not for the reasons being stressed by the would-be new government partners of Fine Gael and Labour. It is that true both parties achieved unprecedented successes at the polls but these are pyrrhic and temporary victories.

The election was historic mainly because it saw the near collapse of Fianna Fail, the dominant party of the capitalist establishment in Ireland since the foundation of the state and one of the most successful capitalist parties in Europe over the last eighty years. The election results are also extremely significant because it marked the emergence of the United Left Alliance, which won five seats.

By Kevin McLoughlin, Socialist Party, Ireland

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The 10th World Congress of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI) was held in December 2010. It was attended by delegates and visitors from more than 34 countries. The main Congress discussions were on world relations, the world economy, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Building the CWI. A number of documents were debated and voted on. The final versions can be read here: World Relations, Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Europe and Eastern Europe and the CIS.

Further documents on Africa and Building the CWI will be produced at a later date.