💾 Archived View for library.inu.red › file › workers-solidarity-movement-international-shorts-ws44.g… captured on 2023-01-29 at 14:53:30. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Title: International Shorts (WS44)
Author: Workers Solidarity Movement
Date: 1995
Language: en
Topics: Nigeria, Bangladesh, Moldova, United Nations, Workers Solidarity
Source: Retrieved on 24th November 2021 from http://struggle.ws/ws95/inter44.html
Notes: Published in Workers Solidarity No. 44 — Spring 1995.

Workers Solidarity Movement

International Shorts (WS44)

Awareness League

The Awareness League in Nigeria is to become the first African section

of the IWA. Readers of Workers Solidarity will remember the League from

the reports of the jailing of four of its members by the state for

opposing the military coup there. The international appeal launched on

this occasion raised nearly $2000 dollars, saw pickets and

demonstrations in many countries including Ireland and resulted in the

publication of over 54 articles in languages including Japanese and

Hindi. The four comrades were released.

Anarchists operating in what’s called the ‘third world’ face extremely

difficult conditions. European anarchists returning from visits to

Nigeria have described the extreme poverty and repression the A.L.

operates under. This has included raids on meetings and the arrest and

detention of all those attending. The need for all sorts of material aid

including literature has been stressed.

We have sought to provide solidarity by printing one hundred copies of

the A.L.s manifesto and sending them to Nigeria. Their opening paragraph

reads

“The AWARENESS LEAGUE, NIGERIA, was founded as a social libertarian

organisation inspired by and committed to the ideals, principles,

objectives, goals, ends and purposes of revolutionary socialism and

anarcho-syndicalism”.

The appearance of a large anarchist organisation in Africa will play a

vital role in spreading the idea of anarchism throughout that continent.

It also underlines the relevance of anarchism for those struggling

everywhere in the world, from the richest to the poorest of countries.

---

Asian unions check out anarchism

Discussions have begun between anarchists and two Asian trade unions,

the National Garment Workers Federation in Bangladesh which organises 5%

of the 1 million textile workers of Bangladesh and the GEFONT trade

union federation of Nepal. The NGWF calls itself an “independent

revolutionary union organisation”. GEFONT was a (pro-China) Communist

Party oriented federation but following the collapse of the USSR and

solidarity from anarchists during the recent battery strike is now

developing contacts with anarchists.

---

Moldavian anarchists freed

Over the last few years Workers Solidarity has responded to appeals

launched on behalf of two Moldavian anarcho-syndicalists, Igor and

Tamara. They had come under severe state repression, first from the

Stalinist regime and then from the ‘new’ nationalist one. This included

frequent raids by the secret police, physical assaults, threats and the

killing of the family dog. Political activity in such circumstances was

impossible and there was a real danger that either or both of them would

be killed.

We were pleased to hear that they had been granted exit visa’s and had

arrived in Germany in late July of this year. They are being helped to

construct a new life by the German anarchist group FAU (a section of the

IWA, anarcho-syndicalist international).

This provides a good example of how international support even where it

is limited to letter writing and embassy pickets can get results.

Anarchist organisations around the world took part in this activity. On

getting their visa, the Moldavian anarchists were told they were lucky

that they had so many international friends.

---

UN Report

The 1994 Human Development Report issued by the United Nations reveals

that

“Between 1960 and 1991, the share of world income for the richest 20

percent of the global population rose from 70 percent to 85 percent.

Over the same period, all but the richest 20%saw their share of world

income fall — and the meagre share of the poorest 20 percent declined

from 2.3 percent to 1.4 percent.”

The military budgets of developing countries totals $125 billion

annually, just 12 percent of that would make it possible for a billion

people to visit a healthcare professional, prevent two million children

from dying of preventable infectious diseases every year, provide proper

diet for 192 million malnourished children and access to safe water to

1.3 billion people.

In 1993, more than 35 million persons in industrialised countries were

seeking jobs.