Socialist MEP condemns Rudd
Tamil refugees moored at the port in Merak contacted Socialist Party officials this morning with the tragic news that a young man died last night at about 11.30pm local time.
By Socialist Party reporters
Jacob Christin, aged 29, had been trying to go to hospital for the last two days but the IOM [...]

We are sickeningly familiar with the arrogant, cruel statements of Sri Lankan prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, and his cronies. They dismiss any criticism of their brutal war against Tamil-speaking people and the horrific aftermath of mass internment camps, militarised zones and a clampdown on media freedoms and democratic rights. But how can Rajapaksa & Company [...]

Interview with union Chairman, Kiswoyo

Textile workers from the Istana Magnoliatama factory in north Jakarta have been occupying their workplace for more than 2 years. Socialist Party National Organiser Anthony Main visited the factory in late November and interviewed Kiswoyo - a member of KASBI and the union Chairman at the plant.

d
Socialist Party National Organiser Anthony Main is currently in Indonesia. On Friday he visited the 254 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees currently moored at the port in Merak. Below he reports on the discussions that took place during his visit and on the conditions faced on board the ship.

Socialist Party National Organiser and refugee activist Anthony Main recently visited the 254 Tamil refugees stranded on board the boat in Merak, Indonesia.
Anthony was invited to the boat by the refugees who have been frustrated that the media have been denied access to them for more than a week. He was accompanied by representatives from [...]

The United Socialist Party (USP), the Sri Lankan section of the Committee for a Workers’ International, held its eleventh national congress from 31 October to 1 November 2009 in Colombo.
By Siritunga Jayasuriya, United Socialist Party, Sri Lanka

Appeal from the Tamil refugees in Merak
The Socialist Party views with great alarm the developments of the last few days in relation to the Tamil-speaking refugees fighting for their rights while virtually imprisoned on their boat in the Indonesian port of Merak.

Socialist Party statement
In recent weeks we have seen an increase in the number of Sri Lankan Tamils seeking asylum in Australia. Most of these people have been travelling by boat via Indonesia and Malaysia. This has put the refugee issue back on the main stage for the first time since the 2004 Federal election.

The following is a joint statement made by a range of left groups from Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia. The Socialist Party will also be publishing our own material on this issue in the near future.

In recent weeks, a new wave of attacks, carried out by Taliban fighters, and a new ground offensive by the Pakistani government in the Waziristan region on the Afghan border, has deepened Pakistan’s devastating crisis.