Since the 1991 U.S.-led assault on the people of Iraq, the fight of Kurds for self-determination, and between rival groups in the region, has become a major issue used by imperialist forces to justify intervention into the middle eastern country.
Tel Aviv bombs Lebanese rebels
The Israeli government flew three bombing raids over
southern Lebanon May 12. They were aiming for Hezbollah
guerrilla fighters resisting Israeli military occupation
there. Earlier, Hezbollah attacked and wounded one Israeli
soldier and four other pro-Zionist militiamen. Hezbollah
claims one fatality, while Israeli Army officials put the
death toll at four. Tel Aviv launched a massive bombing
campaign in April, 1996, killing more than 100 and causing
400,000 Lebanese residents to evacuate their homes.
Strike halts French train service
Railroad ticket inspectors initiated a two-day strike
May 14, canceling half the trains between Paris and the
southern cities of Marseille, Lyon, and Montpellier. The
walkout was aimed at pressuring the company to speed up
contract negotiations, and discuss union proposals on
promotion practices.
Okinawans protest U.S. bases
Thousands of Okinawans, including unionists, youth,
Okinawan landowners, and others protested on May 15 against
25 years under Japanese imperial rule and the military
occupation of nearly 30,000 U.S. troops stationed there. The
Japanese government deployed riot cops to defend the bases.
Tokyo canceled the 25 year anniversary celebration this
year, sensing a less-than-festive mood among Okinawans.
"We want the Americans and the Japanese government to respect the wishes of the Okinawan people," protester Sueko Akanime demanded outside Kadena Air Base. Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto cancelled his visit to the island, after it was announced he approved a law that would force landowners to open up their property for U.S. bases.
Miners in Borneo: `Pay us now!'
On May 11, when Canadian mining company Bre-X Minerals'
gold mining operation in Borneo turned out to be a hoax and
managers began fleeing by helicopter, 400 mine workers held
the remaining two managers captive for three days, demanding
their wages be paid. After Bre-X promised to pay the wages,
the two bosses were released. The company had claimed that
200 million ounces of gold were deposited in the East
Kalimantan province, some 930 miles northeast of Jakarta.
Australian steelworkers strike
Some 20,000 steelworkers in Australia organized a
national 24-hour strike May 15 to protest a decision by the
Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd (BHP) to shut down its
Newcastle steel mill by 1999. The move would cause 2,000 BHP
workers to loose their jobs, and thousands more in steel
related industries. The strike affected six steel operations
throughout Australia and received support from the Maritime
Union of Australia, whose dock worker members refused to
service BHP ships during the strike. BHP is laying plans to
shut down most of its Australia operations.
Honduran chorti's promised land
More than 3,000 protesters, most of them chorti's
(native Hondurans), who waged a ten-day protest, ended the
action after Honduran president Carlos Roberto Reina agreed
to make some concessions. Trying to absolve himself from the
500 years of pillage of native peasants, he promised to give
them 24,750 acres of land in the Copan and Ocotepeque
provinces near the Guatemalan border. Reina also agreed to
investigate the slayings of two chorti' leaders that
occurred last month. He offered military and police
"protection" for their new land. There have been 31 killings
of indigenous leaders in the past decade. Other demands
included government financial and technical assistance to
help them work the land.
Aircraft bosses talk trade war
The U.S.-based Boeing aircraft company charged European
Union (EU) competition commissioner Karel Van Miert of
"provoking a transatlantic trade war," according to the May
14 Financial Times. Van Miert voiced opposition to a $13
billion merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, which would
create the world's largest aerospace and defense
corporation. Miert asserted the merger would be "extremely
problematic" and insisted that the EU has the right to stop
it. The EU commission is considering imposing a 10 percent
fine on revenues, expected to reach $48 billion.
Miert said decisions by American Airlines and Delta Air Lines of the United States to make Boeing its sole aircraft supplier for 20 years was "out of the question." U.S. vice president Albert Gore, vowed to "take whatever action is appropriate" to defend the merger. Boeing rejected the idea that the EU body could claim jurisdiction over deals between U.S. companies, warning that any attempt to do so would create "problems" between Washington and Brussels.
Clinton tosses workfare bone
The Clinton administration announced May 15 that most
people participating in workfare programs should be covered
by minimum wage laws, backing an argument by the union
officialdom that workfare recipients were covered by the
Fair Labor Standards Act. The decision "was widely
interpreted as an effort to repay the union leaders who have
supported the Democratic Party," the New York Times
reported.
State Supreme Court Judge Jane Solomon of New York ruled May 12 that workfare participants should be paid comparable wages to what a city worker gets paid for similar labor. A spokesman for New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani asserted, "the decision will be appealed. Therefore it will have no immediate impact on our ongoing programs. Ultimately, the entire issue will be pre-empted by the Federal welfare law."
U.S. Army used Canadian town in secret germ-warfare tests
According to a report released May 14, the U.S. Army
conducted secret germ-warfare tests in 1953, using Winnipeg
as a guinea pig. Cancer-causing zinc cadmium sulphide was
dropped in more than 32 towns and cities. The Pentagon
claims the amounts were not large enough to harm humans. The
Canadian Defense Department has mouthed the same deception.
They also lied to the mayor of Winnipeg when the experiment
was being done, telling them the toxin being sprayed on the
town was a chemical fog being tested that might protect them
from a Russian nuclear attack.
- Brian Taylor