*NEW* International News Round-Up

A new section "International News Round-Up" has been added to this blog.   It will contain a selection of  up to date news reports and analysis from around the world.  Links to the relevant articles  which this blog believes may interest people will be provided.

It will also post stories and analysis from Ireland relating to International affairs.  It will be updated regularly and we welcome any suggestions of stories for inclusion.

This new section can be found on the left hand side of this blog or by clicking here.  Check it out and let us know what you think by e mailing us at eirigisligeach@gmail.com

Donegal Hears Plans for New Aid Flotilla to Gaza

A Public Meeting held on Saturday last (July 24) in Donegal Town's Central Hotel heard in-depth eye witness accounts of the Israeli attack on the Gaza Aid Flotilla on May 31. 

Fiachra O'Luain from Inishowen in County Donegal and Cork native Fintan Lane, who were on board the Challenger 1, recounted in detail their experiences when Israeli commando's stormed their boat.  They spoke at length of witnessing the attack on the Mavi Marmara which resulted in the murder of nine of their colleagues on the Flotilla and outlined how they themselves and their colleagues were assaulted and brutalised by their Israeli captors on the boat and in Israel while in captivity.

Fiachra O'Luain Addresses Public Meeting-Donegal Town July 24 2010 from éirígí Sligeach on Vimeo.

Fintan, who was speaking on behalf of the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) which organised the Flotilla, also outlined the organisations plans for another Aid Flotilla during the Autumn.  He said that pressure must not just be maintained, but intensified, in order to support the people of Gaza and to bring the inhumane and illegal siege of the area to an end.

Following the accounts given by Fiachra and Fintan, a lively question and answer session took place, particularly relating to how people in Donegal and other parts of Ireland could help the Palestinian people in their ongoing struggle for justice and freedom.  Amongst the topics discussed was the ongoing campaign of Boycott,  Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) against Israel as well as the next Gaza Aid Flotilla and how individuals could assist in terms of finance and raising the issue in the media. 

The North West Forum's Jim McLaughlin, who chaired the meeting, said that another public meeting was planned for Donegal town at the start of September.  For more information check out www.ipsc.ie or phone 087 9730539

éirígí Calls for Action on Israel

éirígí Tir Chonaill spokesperson, Micheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig, has called on the EU to halt it's association with Israel in light of the recent vote in the European Parliament to support the UN Goldstone Report on Gaza. One of those who has voted in favour of the report is local MEP Pat The Cope Gallagher.


The report, by Justice Richard Goldstone on behalf of the UN Human Rights Council, was compiled in the aftermath of the military assault by Israel on Gaza in early 2009 and was heavily critical of the actions of Israel during the conflict. In the report, Goldstone concluded that Israel committed "grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention in respect of wilful killings and wilfully causing great suffering to protected persons," war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.

Mac Giolla Easbuig said "The fact that the European Parliament has voted in support of such a report goes to show the revulsion that is felt, by so many, of the brutal actions meted out by the Israeli state on the Palestinian people, both in Gaza and the West Bank. This week, the the Council for the EU will be discussing the up-grading of the EU-Israel Association Agreement (EUIAA) and we in éirígí are calling on the EU to halt this in light of the recent vote that was taken by the European Parliament."



"The EU-Israel Association Agreement promotes strong business, trade and cultural links between the EU and Israel and an up-grade to 'special status' will make these links even stronger, eventually giving Israel the chance of more input in EU policies and more access to EU money. This just will not be acceptable. Currently Israel is no more than a rouge state. Its in clear breach of a list of UN Security Council resolutions, the Forth Geneva Convention and rulings from the International Court of Justice. Its even in breach of the regulations of the EU-Israel Association Agreement set up for Israels benefit. Its a nuclear power in violation of international law and shouldn't be rewarded for its continuing illegal occupation in Palestine."

Likening Israel to to the once Apartheid South Africa, Mac Giolla Easbuig continued by saying widespread sanctions should be placed on Israel. "The conditions which the Palestinian people endure under the Israeli occupation are as bad as that which the people of South Africa lived under during the Apartheid Regime. Economic, cultural and sporting boycotts done much to bring that regime to an end and similar actions could go a long way to bring the Israeli states brutality to an end. Rather than aiding and abetting Israel in its crimes the EU should place economic sanctions upon it for the wrongs it continues to perpetrate in the middle east."



Mac Giolla Easbuig concluded by saying, "The current Twenty-Six County government have their part to play in this also. They should be actively calling on Israel to desist from its many crimes, instead of backing them by trading with them in deals, such as the purchasing of millions of euros worth of bullets from Israeli Military Industries, a deal which they are currently considering."

"At the up-coming EUIAA meeting, the Twenty-Six Counties will be represented by the Department of Foreign Affairs and given Israels track record and its continuing occupation of Palestine and blockade of Gaza, I'm calling on the government to insist that this agreement isn't up-graded, but rather scrapped altogether. I would also ask that those who represent the Twenty-Six Counties in the European Parliament, such as Pat The Cope Gallagher, work harder to insure that Israel is brought to book and that the Irish people who they represent are not mis-represented by being made complicit in Israels many crimes."

Palestinian Play in Donegal a big Success

A much larger than expected crowd attended an event to mark International Women's Week in Dungloe last weekend. The event, a play entitled "Clouds on a Mountain Road", was held in Ionad Teampall Chróine, Dungloe, and staged by Derry based theatre company Sole Purpose Productions.

Well over one hundred people turned up on the Saturday evening (13th March) and packed into the upstairs room in Ionad Teampall Chróine, Dungloe, to see the two local actresses, Carmel McCafferty and Abby Oliveira, put on a very emotional and moving performance which got a standing ovation from the audience on the night.

The emotive play looked at the issue of two women living in Palestine, how they deal with the brutal occupation of the Israeli Defence Forces, the conflict the occupation causes and the personal hurt and emotion caused to the women by the conflict. Orna Akad, who wrote the play, looked at how women resist the occupation and the great angst which it causes them, as well as their efforts to make change in their own way, was at the heart of the play.

One of the women portrayed in the play was internationally acclaimed Palestinian poet, Fadwa Tuqan, a women from a comfortable background who had seen the world and lived a western style life. The other was a younger Palestinian women, Inshirah Shiti, a political ex-prisoner and militant from a much poorer background, holding strong religious views. Throughout the course of the play the two women discussed their feelings, the effects the conflict has had on them and the reasons for doing what they did in their own way to resist the occupation of their homeland.

Éirígí Tir Chonaill spokesperson Micheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig who organised the Dungloe event said he was overwhelmed by the amount of people who showed up on the night to see the play and mark International Women's Week. Speaking after the event Micheál Cholm said, "I was amazed and delighted to see so many people make the effort to show up and support this event. Such a crowd turned up that we had to close the doors and unfortunately we had to turn people who came late away, which I'd like to apologise for as I appreciate the fact they made the effort to come to the event. But we just had no more room to fit people in."

"It was such an emotional performance and it was hard not to be moved by the subject matter. All too often the issue of how conflict affects women and people in general on a personal level is overlooked. This play, particularly on International Women's Week, was a good opportunity to do just that. The brutality meted out on the Palestinian people on a daily basis continues and all the problems that come with that affect them both emotionally and psychologically, as well as socially, from the very youngest to the very oldest in their society. There were so many people sitting around me who were moved to tears and that reaction just went to show that the audience took on board the message of the play", he said.

"A women speaking to me after the play said throughout the performance, she could visualise pictures of the suffering of the Palestinian people and almost relived the footage which was shown around the world of the horrors of the prolonged Israeli military attacks on Gaza and its people in early 2009. Not only that but she said she could relate what the women discussed in the play to her own terrible experiences living through the on-going British occupation in the North of Ireland where she had lived for most of her life. So I feel that the play did a service, not only of marking International Women's Week, but in educating people about the many issues, challenges and emotions women face in times of conflict."

Micheál finished by thanking all those involved in helping to stage the play and also thanked the people who turned up on the night to see it.

NO to Lisbon 2 Poster Campaign launched in Sligo

éirígí Sligeach launched the first phase of its poster campaign against the Lisbon Treaty earlier this week. Posters and banners opposing the Treaty and calling for a NO vote were erected throughout Sligo town and also in Ballisodare and Collooney.

éirígí Sligeach activist Gerry Casey said that this was just the start of what he claims will be an intensive campaign by the party in Sligo and throughout the north-west.

He said: "While this is certain to be a very tough campaign, we in éirígí are more than confident that we can achieve a second NO vote in the upcoming referendum on October 2nd. For our part we will be stepping up our campaign in Sligo and the north-west in general over the coming weekend and in the weeks to come."

He added: "This is the exact same treaty we voted on and rejected last year. Every word, sentence and paragraph included in the Treaty is the very same as last time around."

"The so called guarantees which the political establishment is so intent to promote as being "legally binding" are nothing of the sort. They have no legal standing, are contrary to the actual content of the Treaty in many instances and do not override the content of the Treaty itself. As éirígí have pointed out repeatedly, these are no more than political promises from politicians at both Irish and European level who, on the basis of their records, are totally discredited and are not to be trusted."

"This Treaty, under its previous guise as the EU constitution, has already been rejected by the French and Dutch public. The EU have ignored those democratic decisions. Following our rejection of that re-named constitution, now called the Lisbon Treaty, once again the EU and the Fianna Fáil led administration have ignored that democratic vote also."

"This reveals the fundamentally undemocratic nature at the heart of the EU itself and how they will stop at nothing as they attempt to entrench their neo-liberalism and privatisation agenda, further deepen the democratic deficit of the union and move towards their desired EU super-state."

He concluded: " éirígí oppose this Treaty, as we did last time, as it undermines sovereignty, is fundamentally anti-worker, promotes greed over need and increases the militarization of Europe. We will also continue to challenge and expose the attempts by Fianna Fáil and the so-called "opposition" in Fine Gael and Labour to deliberately mislead and deceive the public with their bogus arguments about so-called legal guarantees that are in fact worthless."

Cruinnithe faoin spéir sa Chlochán Liath faoi Chonradh Liospóin

(English version follows.)

Ag labhairt ag cruinniú eagraithe ag éirígí sa Chlochán Liath ag éileamh ar vóta Níl sa reifreann i mí Dheireadh Fómhair, dúirt eagraí Cheardchumann Neamhspleách na nOibrithe Tommy McKearney nach bhfuil sé de ghustal ag Éirinn ligeant don Eoraip talamh slán a dhéanamh dá comhlíonadh.

“Le ceann de na daonraí agus eacnamaíochtaí is lú san Aontas Eorpach, ní féidir le hÉirinn cáil a fháil ó chomhlíonadh i gcónaí nuair a ordaíonn na stáit mhóra é sin a dhéanamh agus sin an rud a tharlóidh má athraíonn muid an cinneadh tógtha ag ár ndaoine in 2008,” dúirt sé.

Bhí an cruinniú sin ar cheann de sraith chruinnithe iarAifrinn curtha ar siúl lasmuigh de eaglasi chaitliceach an Chlocháin Liath oíche Dé Sathairn agus maidin Dé Domhnaigh [29-30ú Lúnasa]. Labhair urlabhraí éirígí Thír Chonaill Micheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig ag na cruinnithe freisin.

“Cuimhnigh,” lean McKearney, “dá mba rud é gur athraíodh an conradh seo go mór ó dhiúltaigh muid é in 2008, bheadh ar phobail an Aontais Eorpaigh vóta a chaitheamh air arís. Tá muid, mar sin, ag vótáil ar an chonradh céanna. Seo conradh a dhéanann leatrom ar oibrithe agus i bhfábhar na mbaincéirí, amhantraithe agus gnóthaí móra trí thacú le hiomaíocht roimh shaothar.

“Cén fáth, an dóigh leat, go bhfuil Michael O’Leary ag infheistiú €500,000 san fheachtas Tá?” arsa McKearney.

Dúirt sé go bhfuil páirtithe na bunaíochta atá ag tabhairt comhairle dúinn vótáil Tá ag tabhairt le tuiscint go gcuirfear amach as an Aontas Eorpach muid agus go mbeidh muid brúite amach ón Euro má theipeann orainn sin a dhéanamh.

“Tá sé seo bréagach amach is amach,” arsa é.

“Ní féidir muid a dhíbirt agus muid ag feidhmiú ár gceart daonlathach Níl a rá agus ní chaillfidh muid an Euro trí dhiúltú don chonradh seo.

“Breithnigh gur iad na páirtithe comhrialtais atá ag tabhairt comhairle dúinn ar vótáil, na daoine oll-neamhinniúlacha céanna atá i gceannas ar thubaiste ár ngeilleagair agus atá meáite anois ar reachtaíocht NAMA a thógaint isteach chun na baincéirí agus na hamhantraithe a tharrtháil agus iad tar éis an méad sin a dhéanamh chun muid go léir a scrios.”

Chríochnaigh sé ag rá gur bhain muintir na hÉireann úsáid as a ndea-chiall agus dhiúltaigh siad bulaíocht an uair dheireanach a vótalaíodh ar an chonradh seo agus gur chóir dúinn an rud céanna a dhéanamh i mí Dheireadh Fómhair.

Open Air meetings in Dungloe on Lisbon Treaty

Speaking at a meeting organised by éirígí in Dungloe to call for a No vote in October’s Lisbon referendum, Independent Workers’ Union organiser Tommy McKearney said that Ireland cannot afford to allow the European Union take its compliance for granted.

“With one of the smallest populations and economies in the European Union, Ireland must not earn a reputation for meekly rolling over when ordered to do so by the bigger states and that is what will happen if we change the decision delivered by our people in 2008,” McKearney said.

The meeting was one of a series of after mass meetings held outside Dungloe catholic church on Saturday and Sunday [August 29-30]. Donegal éirígí spokesperson Micheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig also addressed the meetings.

“Let us remind ourselves,” McKearney continued, “that if this Treaty had been significantly altered since we rejected it in 2008, the peoples of the EU would have had to vote on it again. We are, therefore, voting on the same treaty. A treaty that by endorsing the right of competition over that of labour, discriminates against workers and in favour of bankers, speculators and big business.

“Why do you think Michael O’Leary is investing €500,000 in the Yes campaign?” McKearney asked.

He said that the establishment parties advising people to vote yes are implying that if they fail to do so, the Twenty-Six Counties will be expelled from the EU and forced out of the Euro.

“That is simply untrue,” he said.

“We cannot be expelled for exercising our democratic right to say No and we shall not lose the Euro for objection to this treaty.

“Don’t lose sight of the fact that the coalition parties now advising us on how to vote are the same grossly incompetent people that have presided over the collapse of our economy and are now hell bent on introducing the NAMA legislation in order to rescue the bankers and speculators who have done so much to ruin us all.”

McKearney concluded by saying that people in the Twenty-Six Counties had used their good sense and refused to be bullied the last time the Treaty was voted on and they should do the same again in October.

éirígí Launches First Wave of No to Lisbon 2

éirígí launched the first wave of the party’s No to Lisbon 2 campaign yesterday (Monday) outside the gates of Leinster House and the EU offices in Dublin city centre.

To remind the Twenty-Six County establishment that they cannot spin their way to a referendum victory and encourage a second defeat of the Lisbon Treaty, éirígí has produced a poster entitled Never Mind the B****cks – It is the Same Treaty.

The poster campaign is themed on the famous Sex Pistols album cover, and hundreds of the posters will be distributed across the Twenty-Six Counties in the lead up to the re-run of the Lisbon Treaty on October 2.

The campaign was launched using a colourful piece of street theatre by two éirígí ‘punks’, while other éirígí activists distributed leaflets to passing members of the public.

éirígí spokesperson Daithí Mac an Mhaistír, who was at the launch, said: “Earlier this year, the Twenty-Six County government issued a series of so-called guarantees drafted by EU hacks, in an attempt to provide some political cover for their desire to re-run the Treaty referendum. These ‘guarantees’ amounted to nothing more than political propaganda on a variety of bogus issues unconnected to the Lisbon Treaty itself. With this fig-leaf of a cover, Brian Cowen announced his decision to reject the democratic verdict of the electorate in the Twenty-Six Counties.

“éirígí has produced this poster to remind people that, despite all the hype and spin surrounding the so-called Lisbon Treaty guarantees, what we are actually being asked to vote on in October is exactly the same treaty as the one that was rejected in June 2008.

“Not a single word, comma or full stop has been changed in the text of the Lisbon Treaty. The Twenty-Six County establishment is blatantly and arrogantly ignoring the democratic wishes of the people by re-running the Lisbon referendum.

“éirígí is confident that, despite all of the scare-mongering by the Pro-Lisbon camp, the electorate will deliver a resounding No once again on October 2.”

Following the poster launch Sligo éirígí activist Gerry Casey said that the Treaty was a very bad deal for workers within the European Union and needed to be rejected once again.

Casey said: "The Lisbon Treaty is a charter for big business and the multi-national corporations. It is an extremely bad deal for the millions of workers who live within the European Union (EU)."

He added: "The revelation that IBEC North West are now supporting the yes campaign and that the Multi-National firm Intel are also planning to spend hundreds of thousands of Euro on promoting a yes vote confirms that it is big business interests that will benefit from the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty."

"Big business is interested in one thing and one only. Maximising it's profits regardless of how that effects their workers or wider society. Workers are viewed as commodities to be used and discarded at the whim of these large companies. What is in their interest, as Lisbon so obviously is, is not in the interests of workers and their families and wider society in general."

He concluded: "A vote for Lisbon will see the continuation of the neo-liberal and privatisation policies that created the economic recession which has resulted in mass unemployment and widespread cutbacks in pay and essential public services . Contrary to what IBEC and Intel are suggesting, the way out of this crisis and the cure for it is not an even stronger dose of the greed before need policies that got us into this mess in the first place. The only thing that Lisbon will provide for workers is more pain and misery and further attacks on their living standards and working conditions."

NO to Lisbon 2 launched

With just six weeks to go to the second Lisbon Treaty referendum, there was a real sense of vigour, urgency and determination amongst activists and members of the public who packed into Liberty Hall for the launch of the No to Lisbon 2 campaign.

Organised by the Campaign Against the EU Constitution, Tuesday’s meeting heard calls for a united left-wing campaign that would put a halt to the grand plans of the European Union’s political elite. The meeting was addressed by trade union activists from both Ireland and Britain as well as Irish political representatives and attended by over 150 people.

Jimmy Kelly, regional secretary of trade union Unite, denounced the European Court of Justice, which he said had savaged the principles of social justice and solidarity and eroded workers’ rights, subordinating them to the interests of business. Linking the erosion of workers’ rights with the Lisbon Treaty, Kelly contrasted the Twenty-Six County government’s refusal to legislate for free collective bargaining and statutory recognition of trade unions with the state’s swift response to end the occupation by workers at Thomas Cook and haul them before the courts. Pledging the full support of Unite, he called for a united left-wing campaign that would mobilise grassroots members of the trade union movement to take the message into workplaces and local communities.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union, delivered an impassioned speech that denounced the principles upon which the Lisbon Treaty was constructed. Reminding the meeting that the Lisbon Treaty enshrines the principle of competition, the internal market and the policy of privatisation within the EU, he called for the unity of workers across Europe to defeat the neo-liberal agenda. The EU project as enunciated in Lisbon was about controlling labour and privatising public services; workers’ rights came second to the movement of free trade he said. Rejecting establishment attempts to label the No side as ‘anti-European isolationists’, Crow declared he was pro-European, pro-African, pro-American, pro-Asian but anti the European Union. Summing up, he argued that the Lisbon Treaty presented two options: a bosses’ Europe or a workers’ Europe and workers’ world. He pledged the support of his comrades in Britain and said the referendum in the Twenty-Six Counties offered an opportunity to re-ignite a European wide campaign.

There followed a lively discussion from the floor, during which a range of issues were debated. Workers’ rights, specifically the ongoing lock-out of workers at Dublin docks and the employment of scab labour, were of particular concern. The meeting was also addressed by Ed Horgan of the Irish Anti-War movement, who pointed out that the Twenty-Six County government has allowed 1.5 million US troops to pass through Shannon airport over the last eight years and is complicit in the killing of a million people in Iraq and Afghanistan, including 250,000 children.

éirígí spokesperson Daithí Mac An Mháistír, who attended the launch of the No campaign on Tuesday morning, called for the maximum effort from all activists over the coming six weeks.

“éirígí intends playing a full and active part in the campaign to defeat the bosses’ charter that is the Lisbon Treaty,” Daithí said.

“Already, our activists have been busy getting the message out. This referendum represents a blatant attack on democratic principles; regardless of the spin, it is the same Treaty.

“The economic model proposed by Lisbon has completely failed working class people. The antidote to the current jobs catastrophe facing workers is not an even stronger dose of neo-liberalism.

“This treaty must be defeated because the fact of it being put to referendum in the Twenty-Six Counties on October 2 represents a negation of democracy. This is the third time that the provisions contained in Lisbon will have been voted upon. On both previous occasions, it was defeated: the peoples of France and the Netherlands rejected the identical EU Constitution in 2005, and the people of the Twenty-Six Counties did likewise when the Lisbon Treaty re-incarnation of the EU Constitution was defeated by the votes of almost a million people in June 2008.

“Once again, the right to vote on the provisions of Lisbon has been denied to over 350 million European citizens. Indeed, éirígí has activists across the Six Counties who will, once again, be denied their say on a treaty that, if ratified, will utterly transform the economic, political and social character of the EU in a direction that is damaging to their interests. It is therefore incumbent upon all those who profess to believe in democracy to campaign to ensure that Lisbon is defeated once again.”

Fianna Fáil MEP accused of misleading the public over Lisbon guarantees

Sligo éirígí activist Gerry Casey has accused Fianna Fáil MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher of "misleading the public" over the Lisbon Treaty. He said that the "guarantees" that the Cope claims are legally binding are in fact "political promises from untrustworthy politicians" with no legal standing.

Casey said: "Pat the Cope Gallagher claims that people are being disingenuous by highlighting the fact that the second Lisbon Treaty referendum is exactly the same as the first referendum which was democratically rejected last year. However, it is Pat the Cope who is being disingenuous and misleading the public."

He added: "This is the exact same treaty we voted on and rejected last year. Every word, sentence and paragraph included in the Treaty is the very same as last time around. The guarantees which Pat is so intent to promote as being "legally binding" are nothing of the sort. They have no legal basis and do not override the content of the Treaty itself. They are simply political promises from politicians at both Irish and European level who, on the basis of their records, cannot be trusted to keep any promises they make."

"This Treaty, under its previous guise as the EU constitution, has already been rejected by the French and Dutch public. The EU ignored those democratic decisions. Following our rejection of that re-named constitution, now called the Lisbon Treaty, the EU and the Fianna Fáil led administration ignored that democratic vote also. This reveals the fundamentally undemocratic nature of the EU itself and how they will stop at nothing as they attempt to entrench their neo-liberalism and privatisation agenda, further deepen the democratic deficit of the union and move towards their desired EU super-state."

Also responding to the claims by the Fianna Fáil MEP, éirígí Tír Chonaill spokesperson Micheál Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig said that "this is a deliberate tactic to deceive the public into thinking that they are voting on something different in this second referendum."

"It is an attempt by them to make people believe the treaty has somehow been altered, even though this is clearly untrue" he said.

Latin America unites in opposition to coup d’état in Honduras

On Sunday 28th June 2009 the President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya was deposed by the Honduran military at the behest of “rightwing oligarchs”, as the President himself later termed those behind the most recent coup d’état to blight Latin America.

In the weeks preceding his forcible removal from power, Zelaya had come into conflict with the Honduran Congress; had twice been accused of acting illegally by the Supreme Court; had been called upon to resign by his Attorney General; and had clashed publicly with the heads of the Defence Staff, Army, Navy and Air Force, all of whom were subsequently either fired or resigned.

And the reason for the ‘State’ and military coming into conflict with President Zelaya and finally electing to depose him? Because, as President, he had the temerity to ask the people of Honduras for their input into how the country should be run. Zelaya has been unequivocal in his assertion that the coup has been carried out “by a very voracious elite, an elite which wants only to keep this country isolated, in an extreme level of poverty”.

Having come to the realisation that the Honduran economic, political and social system grossly favoured the wealthy and propertied classes, Zelaya pushed for a referendum as to whether or not the Honduran constitution should be re-written. The intention being, given social realities, that any new constitution arising out of a national process of debate and consultation would be one based upon more egalitarian principles. In this he had been influenced by the process that led to the Venezuelan Constitution being re-written to give legal effect to a new and qualitatively different understanding of the economic, political and social rights of the people of Venezuela.

As is the case in much of Latin America, in Honduras egregious wealth exists cheek-by-jowl with the most grinding poverty. The available figures show that in a country of 7.5 million people it is estimated that 44.4% of the population live on less that $2 per day, with 23.8% living on less than $1. This equates to 3.3 million Hondurans living on less than $2 a day (United Nations Human Development Report, 2001).

According to the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), “rural poverty in Honduras is among the most severe in Latin America. Approximately 53% of the population is rural, and it is estimated that 75% of the rural population lives below the poverty line, unable to meet basic needs. The country still has high rates of population growth, infant mortality, child malnutrition and illiteracy. These and other social and economic factors reflect its status as the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, after Haiti.”

Zelaya’s deposing in such dramatic fashion demonstrates how little the Honduran military, oligarchy, and anti-democratic forces were willing to countenance even the most modest of political and economic changes required in that country. To do so would have been to surrender the privileges that they enjoy at the expense of the majority of Hondurans who are exploited and forced to live lives of misery. In this regard, what is happening in Honduras is reflective of a wider battle that is taking place over the future of Latin America.

Those behind the coup in Honduras are trying by their actions to insure that Honduras doesn’t go the way of all those other Lain American countries that over the last decade have set their faces to the construction of more decent and inclusive societies, and a Latin America that functions in a more integrated and co-operative manner. The reaction of the governments and peoples of the region to the coup is indicative of the manner in which the politics of Latin America have changed; the reaction is indicative of the extent to which the peoples of that part of the American continent are rising to assert their rights and beginning to draw the simple conclusion that the realisation of their rights necessarily requires that the yoke of neo-liberalism and imperialism be cast off.

Almost all of the governments of Latin America have closed ranks in condemning the coup. A number (Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua) have indicated that the situation might necessitate military intervention (a number of diplomats from Venezuela and Cuba were assaulted when the Honduran Foreign Minister was taken away by the military in the middle of a meeting with said diplomats). Leading the charge in defence of the integrity of Honduras are the countries that comprise ALBA (the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas), of which Honduras is a member.

ALBA is a bloc of nine member countries (Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominica, Ecuador, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Antigua and Barbuda – and two observers, namely Paraguay and Grenada) which sees its primary role being to increase co-operation between the countries of the region on terms that are mutually beneficial and non-exploitative. Its ideology is decidedly left-wing in orientation. From the ALBA process has arisen the notion of ‘Our America’, indicative as it is of the rise of democratic and progressive social forces in the region that reject the pernicious influence of the US and its various neo-liberal institutions of plunder.

The term is an explicit rejection of the notion that the American continent be defined by, and for, white North Americans and their assorted interests. Central to the recent shift in the political landscape of Latin America is an understanding that the fate of the people of Latin America rests upon a collective approach. Outside of the ALBA bloc, recent elections have also brought left-wing governments to power in Paraguay and El Salvador. The governments of both countries have also condemned the putschists. In fact, not a single country has, of now, recognised the illegal government of Roberto Michelletti.

The Organisation of American States (OAS) has moved to expel Honduras, coming only weeks as it does after the Organisation, formerly Washington’s lapdog and mouthpiece in the region, moved to rebuke the US itself for its decades-old enmity towards Cuba. Even Colombia has declared Zelaya to be the lawful President.

That Colombian President Uribe and the US both condemn the coup is further indication of where the balance of power lies in the region. This is not to suggest that either is in favour of Zelaya or the modest reforms he proposes. Their real concern is of course that he represents another leftist ‘domino’ that will further contribute to the growing opposition to US imperialism in the region. In particular the US fear that a progressive government in Honduras will end the state of affairs that sees several hundred US troops stationed at Soto Cano Air Base, a Honduran military installation that is also the headquarters for a regional U.S. joint task force.

In fact, such are the interests at stake there is mounting evidence to suggest that the US was indeed involved in the coup in Honduras. Writing in the Cuban daily Rebelión in response to reports of the involvement of the US, Hugo Morliz Mercado notes that “renouncing subversion and counterinsurgency would be to deny its (the US’s) very nature. For Honduras not to become the Nicaragua of the 1980s and the Haiti of 2004, it is necessary for the peoples and governments of "Our America" to increase the pressure and to maintain their guard as to what the United States is going to do”. (For more on this issue see Eva Golinger’s article at http://www.chavezcode.com/2009/07/role-of-international-republican.html).

But the US and its allies are limited in what they can say publicly owing to the widespread groundswell of opinion against the coup, and this is significant in and of itself. The public reaction of the US administration is certainly different to its reaction to the coup it helped orchestrate against Hugo Chávez in 2002. Then, the US State Department expressed its support for the coup, declaring that “undemocratic actions committed or encouraged by the Chavez administration provoked yesterday's crisis in Venezuela” (US State Department press statement, April 12, 2002). All of this would tend to confirm that the forces of capitalism and reaction are reeling in the region, and indeed right across the globe. Economically, in terms of people losing faith in the orthodoxies of the past, and militarily in Afghanistan, Iraq and their inability to intervene in other areas where they would if they could.

On the streets of the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa and right across the region the cry that is heard is that of “the people united, will never be defeated.” Leaders from the Popular Resistance Front, a newly created broad-front comprised of trade unions, farmers, youth organizations, and students etc., have called for an escalation of protests to secure the return of President Zelaya.

From his refuge in Costa Rica President Zelaya has announced his willingness to talk to the putschists. He has however indicated that this will only happen on the basis that it results in the reinstatement of his government, stating as that “there are things that cannot be negotiated, such as the reestablishment of democracy and the return to power of the deposed president. The restoration of the government is not on the table, I will not betray the people that are in the streets”.

The Honduran masses are mobilizing and it looks like it is only a matter of time until the reactionary capitalist and military putschists are removed from power.

While Zelaya might be in exile at present, his wife has come out of hiding in the last few days and appears to be prepared to assume a leadership role in his absence. At a rally on Tuesday 7th July Xiomara Castro appealed to the Honduran masses to continue the struggle, stating that “there are men and women who are giving their hearts and their lives to this cause. President Zelaya raised this banner, which is not his, but that of the people, but not those people joining marches with women who have just come out of the beauty salons or wearing expensive sunglasses, but the real people that we are seeing here, the majority in our country, campesinos, workers and other sectors.”

The struggle on the streets of Honduras is in its essence a struggle between the past and the future, between the forces of reaction and progress, between the forces of capital and the rights and needs of people. The dignity of Latin America has been reclaimed by the hard work and struggle of the masses during the past decade. The maintenance of its dignity depends upon the overthrow of the putschists and the continuation of the project to build a Latin America based upon the principles of solidarity and co-operation.

Israeli kidnap of Ballina man an act of state terrorism and International piracy

Sligo éirígí activist Gerry Casey has described as an act of “international piracy” the kidnapping in International waters of Mayo man Derek Graham and the seizure of their boat by the Israeli navy. He has also called on the Fianna Fáil led administration to immediately expel the Israeli ambassador, cut all diplomatic links with Israel and initiate moves for the European Union (EU) to do likwise.

Mr Graham was one of twenty one Human Rights workers, including two Irish citizens, who was on board the Free Gaza boat 'Spirit of Humanity' when it was attacked and seized by the Israeli navy today (Tuesday 30/6/09). Among those kidnapped along with Mr Graham, the ship’s first mate, is a former US congressperson Cynthia McKinney and former Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Corrigan Maguire.. The boat was making its way to Gaza to deliver much needed aid to the long suffering civilian population of Gaza who continue to suffer under the illegal and inhumane Israeli siege. These supplies, which include medicine, toys, olive trees and cement, have been confiscated.

Casey said: “The kidnapping of Derek Graham and his colleagues and the seizure of their boat and essential supplies they had on board to be delivered to the people of Gaza, is an act of state terrorism and international piracy and must be treated by the Fianna Fáil led administration as such. They must act immediately to expel the Israeli ambassador, cut all diplomatic ties with Israel and initiate moves for the EU to do likewise. They must also insist on Mr Graham and his colleagues immediate release, the release of the boat and its supplies to allow it continue its journey and the lifting of the illegal siege of Gaza.”

He added: “This siege, the effects of which Derek and his colleagues were trying to alleviate with their shipment, continues as the civilian population increasingly struggle to get food and essential medicines to survive. The suffering these people are enduring is unimaginable, particularly for children and the elderly. The Israeli military continue bombing the area, obliterating the remnants of an already destroyed economy and infrastructure. During their recent invasion of Gaza, Israel committed countless war crimes, deliberately bombing civilian targets, killing more than a thousand Palestinian civilians, including hundreds of young children. That this situation is allowed to continue unimpeded by the so-called International Community is scandalous.”

He concluded: “The record of successive Leinster House administrations, and of the EU, in dealing with the state terrorism of Israel is woeful. Following the murderous assault of Gaza by Israel at the start of this year, they failed to take any action against Israel. However, following this latest act of state terrorism and International piracy, including the kidnapping of Irish citizens, they must now take a firm stand against the rogue state of Israel. Anything less would be shameful.”

Lisbon 2 – Democracy EU-Style

The vision of a unified Europe first articulated in the Schuman Declaration of May 9th 1950, to the effect that “the pooling of coal and steel production should immediately provide for the setting up of common foundations for economic development as a first step in the federation of Europe”, is the vision that has guided the European project since its inception. We must be under no illusion that it is the consolidation of political power in a centralized, ‘free market’ based, neo-liberal Europe that the Eurocrat establishment has as its primary objective. All European treaties throughout the last 60 years have been directed at progressing towards the achievement of this objective. Essentially this is what Lisbon 1 was about. It is what Nice 1 and 2 were about. The particulars of the ‘assurances’ or ‘guarantees’ agreed at the EU summit of June 19th notwithstanding, this is what the coming Lisbon 2 is about also.

We will be made to vote again and again if needs be until we vote ‘right’, both literally and figuratively – until we vote to accept that the economic and political future of the millions of people who inhabit the EU area is best determined by an unelected Commission and a burgeoning and ever-more powerful EU bureaucracy. Such is ‘democracy’ EU-style. It is the epitome of bourgeois democracy – replete with the illusion of substance, yet in practice inherently anti-democratic in any real sense, and directed fundamentally at securing the interests of capital and its political servants.

Most of the ‘assurances’ agreed by EU heads of State at the summit relate to issues (such as conscription, abortion and taxation etc.) that never formed part of the left opposition’s rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. Nowhere in all of the campaigning against Lisbon that éirígí was involved in were these types of issues seriously articulated by the man and woman on the street. They do not reflect the grounds upon which working class people came out comprehensively against the Treaty. The CAEUC, of which éirígí is a member, based its opposition to Lisbon primarily upon the fact that the Treaty would undermine sovereignty, was fundamentally anti-worker, promoted greed over need and increased the militarization of Europe. Many of the 862,415 Irish citizens (over 53 per cent of the 26-county electorate) who voted against the Lisbon Treaty agreed with this analysis and opted to vote against the vision of Europe that was being proposed by those who deigned to tell them what was in their best interests, having already discarded the democratic determination of the peoples of both France and the Netherlands and denied all other European peoples the right to vote one way or the other. This is democracy EU-style.

As to what will be different this time? There is absolutely nothing about the assurances ‘secured’ by Cowen et al. on June 19th that will in any way, shape or form alter the substance of the Lisbon Treaty. Not one full stop, nor comma, of the Treaty will be altered. The fundamentals of Lisbon remain the same: it codifies neo-liberalism, further deepens the democratic deficit and progresses the Eurocrat plan for an EU super-state. The ‘assurances’ given with regard to the fear of creeping EU militarism are instructive in this regard. That the assurances can state that the 26-County government may “determine the nature and volume of its defence and security expenditure and the nature of its defence capabilities” at the same time as the text of the Lisbon Treaty obliges all signatories to commit to “progressively' improving (military) capabilities” highlights the contradiction between what is being said and what must be done. The EU bureaucracy is speaking out of both sides of its mouth. What the ‘assurances’ amount to is subterfuge and scaremongering. Subterfuge in that the ‘assurances’ are intended to give the impression of a changed Treaty while doing nothing of the sort in reality. When Brian Cowen states that: “We came here (to Brussels) with two aims. Ireland (sic) wanted firm legal guarantees. We got them. We wanted a commitment to a protocol. We got that. I am confident we now have a solid basis to go to the (sic) Irish people and to ask them again for their approval for Ireland (sic) to ratify the Treaty so that Europe can move on”, he is engaging in a display of shocking cynicism. He implies that the ‘assurances’ are something other than mere legal re-statements of aspects of the existing Treaty, which they are not.

The scaremongering is to be found in the subtext to all of this, which is as follows: “if we don’t vote yes, what is an already economically disastrous situation, will be compounded and exponentially made worse”. The implication is that accepting Lisbon will help rescue Ireland from the depths of the economic recession it finds itself in. Given the fact that neo-liberal ‘free’ market economics is what caused the global meltdown in the first place and the fact that the same neo-liberal agenda is codified in Lisbon, the proponents of a Yes vote are like quack doctors whose proposed cure for a disease is more disease.

We must resist the renewed attempt to have the Lisbon Treaty forced upon us as we did when we first defeated Lisbon against all odds in June 2008. On that occasion, the people of the Twenty-Six Counties defended the democratic rights of all of the peoples of Europe. Once again we must organise to reject the anti-democratic, anti-worker, anti-citizen paradigm that the Lisbon Treaty represents. We must organise to reject the notion that a neo-liberal EU super-state can deliver the people of Europe anything than a continuation of denial of democracy, capitalist crisis and periodic economic meltdown. Our position with regard to Lisbon 1 was quite simply that saying NO to Lisbon was to say yes to the possibility of a democratic Europe, to the possible realisation of an “internationalism based upon the ideal of a free federation of free peoples”. It remains our position, no matter what ‘assurances’ emanate from Brussels or any other EU bourgeois institution.

SAY NO TO A UNITED STATES OF EUROPE – SAY NO TO LISBON 2

éirígí attack plans for Lisbon 2 referendum

Sligo éirígí activist Gerry Casey has condemned the decision by Brian Cowen’s administration to hold a re-run of the Lisbon Treaty referendum, which was democratically rejected last year.

Casey said the decision exposes the fundamentally undemocratic nature of the European Union and the contempt with which the political establishments in both Dublin and Brussels view the Irish people.

He said: “By ignoring the democratic decision of the Irish people last June to reject the Lisbon Treaty and by their decision to re-run the exact same referendum in October, the EU and the Brian Cowen’s administration have shown yet again the utter contempt with which they view the Irish people and the notion of democracy. From the time this Treaty was voted down, nothing whatsoever has been changed in it. Not a single paragraph, not a single word. The referendum the Irish people are being forced to vote for later this year will be exactly the same as that which they rejected last year.”

He added: “The so-called declarations and guarantees being given on certain issues are a red herring. They are meaningless and will have no legal force whatsoever as they will not be part of the Treaty itself. As such, they will not override the actual content of the Treaty. To put it simply, they will be meaningless political promises from untrustworthy politicians at both European and national level."

“Once again, this administration are attempting to bulldoze through, using a combination of coercion and deceit, a treaty that will further increase the fundamentally undemocratic nature of the EU. A vote for the Lisbon Treaty will further erode this state’s sovereignty, speeding up moves towards the creation of an EU super-state. The Treaty will see a further abandonment of the state’s neutrality as the militarisation of the EU will substantially increase, with moves towards an EU army intensifying and the establishment in the Treaty of the so-called mutual defence pact."

“The Treaty also continues to promote the right-wing ideology of greed over need, of privatisation and is fundamentally anti-worker, with negative consequences for the rights of workers, rights which need to be strengthened, not diminished. These are the very policies and values that have created the economic recession that we are currently in, that has led to massive unemployment, wage reductions, income levies and cuts in essential public services, such as health and education. For Irish workers to vote for Lisbon would be akin to turkeys voting for Christmas.”

Casey concluded: “Cowen and his colleagues have completely ignored the concerns of the Irish people over the Treaty. They have failed to secure any changes to it because they never once sought any changes to it. But Cowen and his cronies in Leinster House and in Brussels need to understand quite clearly that when we said No, we meant No. What part of No do these people not understand?”

European Union support for Colombia and Israel ignored by politicians

Over recent weeks we have all seen what has passed for debate in the European election campaign. However, completely absent from this debate has been the role of the European Union (EU) in bankrolling terror states involved in gross human rights abuses, political repression, torture, murder and other breaches of International law.

Particularly reprehensible has been the EU’s decision to maintain and upgrade, favoured trading status with both Colombia and Israel, regimes that violate International law on a daily basis.

In Colombia, trade unionists, political opponents and human rights activists all face intimidation, arbitary detention, kidnapping, torture and murder at the hands of the Colombian regime or their right wing death squad allies. Last year, over 40 Trade Union activists were murdered. Already this year, 19 more Union activists have been slaughtered.

Israel continues its illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and the building of its illegal annexation wall. The inhumane siege of Gaza continues as the civilian population increasingly struggle to get food and essential medicines to survive. The Israeli military continue bombing the area, obliterating the remnants of an already destroyed economy and infrastructure. During their recent invasion of Gaza, Israel committed countless war crimes, deliberately bombing civilian targets, killing more than a thousand Palestinian civilians, including hundreds of young children.

Rather than cutting all ties with Israel, imposing sanctions on them and seeking to bring those responsible for the war crimes committed against the Palestinian people to justice, Israel has been allowed to retain favoured trading status with the EU.

By doing so, the EU are bankrolling the Colombian and Israeli terror regimes and éirígí believe they are complicit in the human rights abuses and war crimes committed by these states. That this scandalous situation is deemed unworthy of being debated by the candidates exposes the shallowness of the claims of a commitment to human rights which occasionally emenate from the EU and its politicians. Their silence shames them all.

Don’t bankroll Israeli terrorism – Boycott Israeli goods

Sligo éirígí activist Gerry Casey has called on Supermarkets in the Sligo area not to stock Israeli goods in their stores. He also has urged the public to refuse to buy such Israeli produce and to complain to management where such goods are for sale.

He was commenting after speaking to and writing to the management of a number of supermarkets in the Sligo area asking them to remove Israeli products which they are currently selling, specifically Jaffa oranges as well as organic potatoes and carrots. While some of the shops in question have now taken the Israeli products off their shelves, a number of other outlets have so far refused to do so.

Casey said: “I discovered in recent weeks that a number of supermarkets in Sligo were selling products of Israeli origin. Among the produce being sold were oranges, potatoes and carrots of Israeli origin, including items being sold under the supermarkets own brand names. I have spoken to and written to the management of the stores in question asking them to cease this practice, which effectively is helping to bankroll Israeli state terrorism and the continued occupation of Palestine. Some of the shops have withdrawn all the Israeli produce from their shelves. However, we are still awaiting a response from the other supermarkets who have so far refused to withdraw these products from their shelves.”

He added: “éirígí is calling publicly on these stores, and all other retailers in the region, to refuse to sell Israeli produce in their stores. éirígí is also urging the general public to be vigilant and to check the country of origin on all the produce they buy. Where they discover Israeli goods being sold, I would urge them to refuse to buy them, to complain to the management of the stores in question and to contact éirígí or the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign to make us aware of what Israeli items are being sold and where they are being sold.”

Casey concluded: “This is an opportunity for people to take practical measures that can make a difference, similar to what happened with the boycott of apartheid-era South African goods. It is an opportunity for people to express their abhorrence at the crimes committed by the Israeli state on the civilian population of Palestine and to show their support for the rights of Palestinian people to secure peace, justice and freedom. Don’t help fund Israeli terrorism. Boycott all Israeli goods.”

éirígí seek expulsion of Israeli ambassador over Gaza slaughter

Sligo éirígí acitivist Gerry Casey has called on the Dublin government to expel the Israeli ambassador due to the continued murderous assault on the long suffering people of the Gaza strip which began on December 26 and which has resulted to date in over 400 Palestinians been killed and more than two thousand wounded. He has also called on people to boycott all Israeli goods and make Sligo an 'Israeli goods free-zone'.

Despite Israeli claims that the attacks were solely targeting Hamas, large numbers of those killed have been civilians, including children. Among the targets hit are family homes, mosques, civilian workshops, media agencies, charitable societies, prisoners' welfare groups and the local Islamic University. Gaza's already crisis-stricken medical infrastructure and supplies are now at breaking-point. Among the dead are seven teenage school children, who were struck down at a bus stop by an Israeli jet.

Casey said: "The ongoing massacre of palestinians in Gaza by the Israeli military is totally unacceptable. Every effort must now be made to not just extend solidarity with the people of Gaza but to also take practical measures against the Israeli state and their representatives."

"The expulsion of the Israeli ambassador is the first step that must be taken. It would send an unambiguous message to the Zionist state that their lengthy and inhumane siege of Gaza and their war crimes against the palestinian people are intolerable."

Casey concluded: "Here in Sligo I would also urge people to boycott all Israeli goods and to urge shops in their locality that do stock Israeli goods to cease doing so. We need to make Sligo an 'Israeli goods free-zone'. This is a practical way in which we, at a local level every day, can show solidarity and assist the palestinian people in their ongoing struggle for freedom and justice."

Bankrolling Murder in Colombia

Francisco Santos CalderónThe Colombian vice-president, Francisco Santos Calderón, was in Belfast this week.

Calderón was here to address a PSNI-run drugs conference on the issue of the cocaine trade and how to combat it. Unfortunately, the senior Colombian politico was not expected to address the involvement of the right-wing death squads in the trade and their dubious relationship with his government.

According to the European Union, Colombia is designated as a developing country.

Over the years, as a result of this classification, under a scheme entitled the General System of Preferences (GSP), Colombia has received preferential trading status with the EU. This scheme and the special benefits that apply and which Colombia is in receipt of are intended solely for countries that respect certain basic human rights and the rights of workers.

Back in 2005 the scheme was altered to a new system entitled GSP Plus, which delivers extra benefits for qualifying countries. However, the new system significantly required those qualifying countries to not just ratify a number of core international conventions on labour rights and human rights, but, more importantly, to also “effectively implement” these international conventions. Among the rights enshrined in these conventions are the right to protection to organise and collective bargaining, as well as the right to freedom of association.

So, while the Colombian regime has indeed ratified the necessary conventions, they have failed to implement them effectively and, in fact, they consistently and regularly breach these and other International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions as a matter of course. Indeed, all the evidence clearly shows that they actively engage in measures, both directly and indirectly through their allies in the right-wing death squads, to hamper the work of trade union activists and to intimidate, disappear, torture and murder those engaged in trade union activity as well as other human rights activists and political opponents. Trade union membership numbers have plummeted in recent decades to just 850,000, just 5 per cent of the total workforce and just half of what union membership figures were 20-years-ago.

For trade unionists, Colombia remains the most dangerous place in the world. An Amnesty International report issued in July of last year highlighted the fact that, during the past two decades, over 2,000 trade union activists have been killed (the figure stands at 2,683 in the last 22 years), while 138 have been the victims of enforced disappearance in Colombia. In more than 90 per cent of these cases, the people responsible for these atrocities have yet to be brought to justice.

In stark contrast to the image presented to the world by the Colombian regime and its US and British allies, the situation has not improved and violence in Colombia has increased dramatically throughout 2008. From January 1 this year up until the end of August, 40 trade unionists were murdered, a figure already higher than the numbers for the entire year of 2007. Among those activists murdered were 15 trade union leaders. Over the past decade, the number of trade unionists killed in Colombia has been consistently greater than those killed in all other countries worldwide combined.

Added to that is the extremely worrying fact that 125 death threats were issued against trade unionists trying to carry out their activity in the workplace throughout Colombia this year alone. Considering the propensity of those issuing the death threats to murder or disappear those that they threaten, those figures are a real source of concern for Colombian trade unionists and should be of major concern for the EU and those who decide what countries are to awarded GSP Plus status.

And it is not just trade unionists that bear the brunt of the Colombian regime’s murderous campaign. The reality of life in Colombia is that those that dare speak out against the regime, those that dare stand up to the repression and murder inflicted by the regime and their allies, those that dare to speak out for human rights and against the appalling human rights record of Colombia all face intimidation, arbitrary arrest, kidnapping, torture and murder for their beliefs and activities, whether political, human rights or trade union orientated.

No more state crimes!Human rights groups have shown that, during the current president’s six-year period in office, the Colombian military has been responsible for the extrajudicial executions of around 1,200 civilians, a figure that is almost twice the number killed in the period between 1996 and 2002.

Amnesty International’s latest report, entitled Leave Us in Peace! - Targeting Civilians in Colombia’s Internal Armed Conflict, again documents an increase in the numbers of civilians killed by the Colombian military and calls for an end to all military aid to the regime. Among the many Colombian military units for which there is clear evidence of involvement in torture, murder and other human rights abuses are units who receive British government and British military assistance, the notorious High Mountain Battalions of the Colombian Army. The report also documents a significant upward surge in attacks against human rights and trade union activists and increases in the forced disappearances and forced displacement of civilians by the regime.

That such a regime, with such an appalling human rights record, should be rewarded with special status by the EU is appalling and should not be allowed to continue.

The position of countries that have GSP status is currently under review and a decision will be announced by the EU Commission on December 15. It is imperative that the EU does not renew Colombia’s special trade status. Instead, they should, as has been called for by the CUT trade union federation, the largest union organisation in Colombia, initiate a high-level and thorough investigation into the murder campaign and human rights abuses carried out by the regime and its allies against trade unionists, human rights activists and political opponents.